House of Descendants: A Very Anubis Christmas
by vibrantblueeyes
Summary: It's Christmas time at Anubis and everyone is ready for the holidays! They thought it was time for relaxing but the Sibunas find themselves deep in a mystery that might just change everything. Tempers run high, friendships are tested, love may blossom, and secrets will be revealed. Multi-chapter Rated T just in case.
1. Unwrapped

**December 14: Unwrapped**

Nothing had ever been normal at Anubis House.

Christmas was _no_ exception.

The never-ending mysteries lurking around Anubis house didn't go leave on holidays.

For only a moment, it seemed as if Anubis house was _normal, _exactly like a school should be. The boring, perhaps even an uneventful term was graciously welcomed after the events of last year.

It had been a lovely break from Egyptian artifacts, villains, and chaos that normally occurred at the creepy boarding school you called home.

But of course, the peace would have to end. What else would you expect from a house that old?

Maybe you would kid yourself that things had permanently calmed down.

That you would never again find yourself racing the clock to save someone or something.

That you would never again have to deal with psychotic people who fantasized of eternal life.

That you would never again lose or hurt your loved ones.

Unfortunately, you were wrong.

I mean, _come on._

This _is _Anubis House.

What did you expect?

* * *

Miss Valentine's last class of the day watched the clock eagerly. In only a few minutes it would be time for the Holidays, or as the Americans called it, Christmas Break! Everybody was ready to quit learning, start partying, start gorging themselves on holiday treats, and finally be seeing their families once again. Being the mellow teacher she was, Miss Valentineagreed to let her class chat to pass the time until the final bell rang.

Amber Millington was talking with her boyfriend, Alfie Lewis, to make time go by faster, "So what did you get me for Christmas, beau?"

"Something…amazeballs!" Alfie excitedly made an imaginary rainbow with his hands.

She eyed him suspiciously, "No cactuses? No raspberries?"

"Oh come on Ambs I've matured!"

Amber patted his back, "Aw sure you have."

Meanwhile, Eddie and Patricia were arguing.

"It's Merry Christmas, Yacker, not happy Christmas!"

"You are so America it's not even funny, and it's happy Christmas."

"It's not my fault you Brits say holiday greetings wrong!" Eddie shrugged.

"Okay doofus, Great Britain originally owned American, therefore we have more rights."

"Happy Christmas, how can you know that it will be a _happy _Christmas? What if they have a crappy Christmas, are you going to change your saying?" Eddie sneered.

"Well the politically correct term is…" Mara began. Everybody let out a groan, but Jerome listened with an interest that you could tell was genuine. Mara and Jerome's relationship was interesting. Everyone had found Mick and Mara together cute but they were not idiots and had obviously noticed Jerome and Mara hanging out _a lot. _But Jerome was really protective of Mara and their relationship was undoubtedly adorable. The house was just trying to get used to them holding hands, kissing, and doing "couply" things.

"Jerome is_ so_ sweet with Mara!" Nina observed, turning to smile at her boyfriend, Fabian.

Fabian felt his heart skip a beat. Ever since they had found the mask, things had been going smoothly between him and Nina. They were best friends, but at the same time, in a relationship. He was happy with the way things were going. Things were not awkward between them now and their relationship was more relaxed. Fabian even surprised himself with romantic dates, surprise kisses, and other things he would normally be too shy to do. But he found himself so comfortable and happy with Nina. Right now he could not help but love everything about her, her smile, her accent, and her eyes made her overwhelmingly beautiful. But he also loved her personality and she was and always would be his best friend. Right now he just had to take a moment to appreciate her familiar and heartwarming smile.

"But I'm sweeter, right?"

"Of course you are," she grinned at him and reached under the table to hold his hand, "So where are you going again for Holiday Break?"

"Nothing special, just another insane Rutter family gathering."

"Fun, I don't think much will be happening at Gran's so you need to make you sure text me a lot," she grinned.

"Of course," Fabian squeezed her hand.

"Aw you two are so sweet; I might be getting a cavity!" Patricia muttered from behind them, rolling her eyes.

"Ignore her, you two are adorable together!" Amber beamed at them, because she felt that she had personally gotten them back together.

"Thanks Amber. So guys I was thinking we should have one last Sibuna meeting before we leave for the holidays?" Nina suggested quietly.

"We can reminisce about the good old times of almost getting ourselves killed," joked Patricia.

Alfie piped in, "Will there be food?"

"Alfie there's already going to be mounds of food at the Christmas party," Fabian shook his head, somehow still surprised at Alfie's hunger.

"I'll sneak in some leftovers?" Joy suggested.

"I love you Joy," Alfie sighed happily then covered his mouth in panic.

Everyone looked at Amber, ready for an explosion. She wasn't exploding but she was sure acting weird. She was clenching her jaw and standing there with her fists clenched, looking like she was about to blow up but could not.

"Are you constipated Amber?" Jerome chortled.

"No...I'm…trying…to…be…a…better…person…" Amber said through clenched teeth.

"Who are you and what have you done with Amber?" Eddie asked and ran up to her to check her temperature, "Are you feeling ill?"

Amber slapped Eddie's wrist away from her forehead and scowled at him.

"Amber promised Alfie that she would not get jealous of anyone, be mean to him, or be too conceited," Mara explained to the confused crowd.

Everyone's jaw dropped, for this was very unlike Amber.

"You must like Alfie _a lot_," Joy deduced.

Amber nodded without saying a word for fear she would scream.

Alfie laughed and put his arm around Amber, "Aw I love you Ambs!"

"Love you too beau," she muttered, still clearly refraining from lashing out on Alfie.

Nina laughed at Amber and Alfie. Perhaps Amber was really changing for him.

Things were going great right now. No mysteries, no evil spirits, and no creepy men were trying to kill her! Sibuna had added three new members; Joy, Eddie, and Jerome. She made a mental note to remind herself to tell Jerome about the Sibuna meeting. They could not talk to him about it now, because Mara would overhear. Jerome had specifically told them all that Mara was not to be told about anything involving Sibuna, for her own safety.

"So it's settled then, Sibuna party in the library at nine, for old time's sake."

At last, the final bell rang and it was time to end school for a few weeks. Everyone began to get up out of their seats but Miss Valentine stopped them, "Remember everybody to at least look into your family history and do a bit of research! I'll even do some of my own. Be prepared for our next unit when school starts back up again!"

"Can I get extra credit for being related to some Egyptian guy that was connected to some descendant of Nina's?" Eddie mumbled under his breath and Patricia suppressed a laugh.

"Now go and enjoy the break!" Miss Valentine announced and the class nearly ran out the door, eager to get started on the long holiday.

Everybody was outside, heading back to Anubis house, and to their great delight it had begun to snow.

"We're going to have a white Christmas!" Joy shrieked gleefully, twirling around through the flurries with her arms spread wide open.

"I love the snow," Mara gushed, lacing her arm through Jerome's.

"So Yacker, now that school's over I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my dad's place over the holidays?" inquired Eddie hopefully.

"Permanently?" Patricia scoffed, "And here I was thinking that you were afraid of commitment."

Eddie wiggled his eyebrows and smirked, "I meant temporarily but if you wanted a permanent residence in the Sweet household you could always stay in my _bed_."

Patricia gaped at him for a moment then started laughing, "Not likely you pervert!" She playfully shoved Eddie but he caught her wrist sending them both tumbling onto the snow-covered ground.

Patricia had landed on top of Eddie with a thump and she caught a glimpse of his smirk.

"Wipe the smile, weasel."

"This is so cliché Yacker. You have to kiss me now."

Eddie had been yearning for a good kiss with Patricia for a while now. It had been too long since their last real kiss and he craved something more than just a simple peck on the cheek.

_Patricia had dragged Eddie to a private place after the ordeal with Senkhara and Rufus in the library._

"_Okay so you got kidnapped and I was worried about you and I know we were fighting about Piper and I'm sorry I was a jerk but you were an idiot and…"_

_Eddie grabbed Patricia and kissed her._

_The kiss was long and to an American teenage boy like himself, it was glorious._

"_You slimeball, I wasn't even done talking!"_

_He kissed her one more time._

"_Sometimes you need to shut up Yacker," he said._

_For once, she said nothing and just kissed him back._

Eddie didn't want to be one of those typical teenage boys who was constantly looking for opportunities to smack lips with his girlfriend but quite frankly they hadn't kissed in a long time

Patricia closed her eyes and leaned down slowly, with her lips only inches from his. He too, closed his eyes and waited for her sweet lips to collide with his.

But instead of Patricia's warm lips his mouth was full of bitter cold snow. Patricia stood above him, sneering and brushing the snow from her hands.

Spitting the snow out of his mouth Eddie grumbled, "Real mature."

She laughed, and then to his surprise her smile softened and she kneeled down on the ground beside him.

Giving him a light kiss on the mouth she leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "Slimeball."

Closing his eyes, he grinned, "Yacker."

"Please get a room or I might just vomit," Jerome groaned.

The two looked up to see their housemates awkwardly surrounding them. Standing up, Eddie sent a glare in Jerome's direction. Patricia, on the other hand, sent a snowball in Jerome's direction. It hit him squarely in the face.

"You are _so_ going down Williamson!" Jerome shouted, wiping slush from his forehead and picking up handfuls of snow.

Soon, snowballs were flying and it had developed into a full-out snowball fight.

Amidst the chaos, Alfie launched a snowball at Fabian, who swiftly ducked and it smacked Amber.

"I'm going to kill you!" Amber cried, reading to lash out at her boyfriend, "You got my hair wet!"

"Live a little Ambs!"

"ALFIE LEWIS I'M GOING TO KI-" began Amber angrily, but noticed Mara's disapproving frown and refrained from yelling.

"I'm calm," she reassured herself and everyone else.

But Alfie's playful behavior gave her an idea; through the chaos of soaring snowballs, she quickly gathered up a bunch of snow. After she threw a snowball into the mess she caught his smile and felt better, even though she hadn't gotten angry at him.

After the fight the kids hiked back to the house, each dripping with melted snow and just positively grinning. They spotted a figure in the living room, lounging on the couch munching on a banana. This was odd because the house was supposed to be empty, Trudy and Victor were out running errands.

"G'day mates!" cried a familiar meathead who stole the fruit bowl, loved food, and was supposed to be in Australia.

* * *

A chorus of "Mick!" ran through the halls and everyone ran to welcome and hug him…except for Jerome and Mara. Mara had never quite really broken up with Mick but Mick had spotted Jerome and Mara kissing and Mara had made a point of avoiding Mick, which was not hard seeing that he lived in Australia, but now that he was back at Anubis houses for a visit he was determined to talk to her. Jerome and Mara stood awkwardly, each mumbled a feeble "hello" and scurried back to Mara's room.

Mick's face fell when he saw Mara leaving but Fabian distracted him, "Welcome back mate!"

"What are _you_ doing here anyways?" snapped Patricia.

"Oh how I've missed your welcoming smile Williamson!" Mick grabbed Patricia and playfully messed up her hair, "I thought I'd pop in for a visit because my mum wanted to see some old friends who lived here."

Actually, Joy had called Mick a while back to see if he wanted to come to England for the Anubis Christmas party and he had agreed, since his mum was itching to come back anyways to see some of her old friends. Trudy had arranged for him to stay in the spare bedroom.

"Well you haven't changed a bit have you Campbell" laughed Patricia. "Oh and this is Eddie, the guy who's been living in your room."

Eddie glowered at Mick with the look of get-your-paws-off-my-girlfriend and Mick realized that he was being very impolite, "We've never met, I'm Mick!" The two shook hands. "So you're Sweet's kid and the she-beast's boyfriend?"

"That's me," Eddie smiled, realizing that Mick meant no harm. "So you're the Australian who likes food?"

"Likes food is stretching it, he _loves _food," laughed Fabian.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure nobody loves food more than me," Eddie smirked and folded his arms.

"You wanna bet?" Mick challenged.

"Oh yeah, but be prepared to lose, my Australian friend!" cried Eddie and the two went to the kitchen to try and see who _really _loved food the most.

"I think Mick just stole my boyfriend," commented Patricia and everyone laughed.

Joy, who organized the party, announced that everyone should make sure their presents were ready. She wanted to have an Anubis Christmas before everyone left for their respective homes, and decided that they would first have a party and then they would do a gift exchange. The idea was approved and Joy was (to her delight) put in charge.

Eddie and Mick had come back with various sorts of foods all over their faces and had decided that they were equal when it came to loving food. Joy felt proud of herself for establishing their friendship, inviting Mick had turned out to be a fantastic idea.

Jerome and Mara had come down, still avoiding Mick, but despite that everyone was enjoying the party. Music, food, and just talking with friends made the party a hit and all was going well.

Alfie was practically sucking up the sugar cookies like a vacuum.

"Alfie can you please try to be at least a little civil?" Amber remarked in a disgusted tone.

"But der too dasty for der own good," Alfie attempted to say as crumbs fell out of his mouth.

He offered her one but Amber declined.

"More for me!" Alfie snatched another cookie, "Joy you are like the mini Trudy."

"I'm guessing that's a compliment?" Joy said uncertainly.

All were dancing and singing to festive Christmas music. It was so nice to finally be free from the worries of school and other things. It was a cheery night at Anubis house for once.

After a while a slower Christmas song came on and all of the couples were dancing. Fabian and Nina were dancing very close to each other, slowly swaying and talking, but conversation was in hushed tones. Eddie, who had been forced by his mother to take ballroom dance back in America, used his skills to waltz Patricia around. Despite the two's dislike for dancing they looked almost blissful. Even Amber and Alfie were dancing. Alfie was a horrible dancer but Amber was keeping her promise and ignored his awful dancing. She actually seemed to be enjoying herself.

But all Mick could focus on was Jerome twirling Mara around. He despised Jerome for making Mara giggle and smile. That was supposed to be _his _job. Mick was furiously eating a cupcake in the kitchen, observing the two with extreme distaste. He felt a mixture of sadness, anger, and jealousy.

Joy, who didn't have a dance partner either, saw Mick scowling at the dancing couples and decided to engage him in conversation.

"You okay Mick?"

"No Joy, I'm not. I can't believe that creep is dancing with her," he replied bitterly. "She used to dance with _me_ and look at _me_ like that but now she's just avoiding _me_!"

"Believe it or not, I know _exactly_ how you feel."

"What do you mean?"

"I used to be crazy about Fabian last term. I would watch him with Nina and feel how you do now. I would hate myself for loving him so much even when he was clearly crazy about someone else," said Joy, surprising herself by telling this to Mick.

Normally Mick would make a blunt comment or shrug something like this off, but he actually listened because realized this was exactly what he needed to hear.

Joy found herself telling everything between her and Fabian to Mick. She poured her heart out to Mick, of all people about the study buddy nights, the stolen kiss, the awkward movie date, the forgetting of her name, the almost kiss, and eventually getting over Fabian and realizing she was just happy to be his friend again.

"Wow," spoke Mick, who was trying to soak up Joy's wise words.

"Uh-huh," Joy leaned back against the counter and nibbled on a cookie.

"So you're over him now?"

"Completely and…rutterly over him," Joy giggled at her pun.

Mick grinned, "So you think I'll be able to get over Mara?"

"Not win her back?"

"Well…" Mick stared at Mara longily, "That options sounds nice too."

"Pick one," Joy demanded, crossing her arms.

"I know I'll be happier if I get over her," he added miserably, "But…I still miss her, Joy. I really do miss her."

"But does she miss you?" The oven beeped and Joy pulled her attention away from Mick to retrieve the cupcakes.

"It's just that…I don't know if she loves me back. How do you know if someone still loves you?"

Joy smiled sadly at Mick, remembering how she had felt those exact same feelings.

"If they kiss back," she answered.

It was the same advice she had given Alfie last year. Later, she would realize that she should've applied the advice to her situation. Fabian had never kissed her back; he thought he was kissing Nina. But Fabian immediately let go of the kiss when he saw that it was Joy. The two had never experienced a true kiss, and though Joy denied it, she eventually succumbed to the idea that Fabian would never kiss her back willingly.

"If I kissed Mara she would never talk to me again and Jerome would slaughter me."

"Well don't mean _really_ kiss her. Just talk to her, see if she loves you back."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then move one and get over her."

"You make it sound so simple," sighed Mick.

"It's not. Believe me, nobody wants to accept the fact that they are alone in loving someone. It's _excruciating _to even think that they will never love you back. It took me_ months_ to even look at him normally. Sometimes, I couldn't even bear to be with him sometimes because I knew he wasn't and would never be mine," Joy recalled.

"But is it possible for me to get over Mara?"

"Yes," she nodded vigorously.

Mick gave Joy a crooked, hopeful smile.

"Just talk to her first, make sure she has no lingering feelings for you. Get closure and _then _you can start getting over her."

Mick nodded but his smile became a sad one, "Missing her…it just..it just makes my heart _hurt_," he said softly.

"I know," Joy placed her hand over his sympathetically, "But it gets better, I promise. I'll help you get through it."

"Er, thanks," Mick awkwardly slid his hand out from under Joy's, both surprised by and unsure of how to react to her gesture.

After what seemed like an eternal moment later, Joy spotted Mick eyeing the cupcakes.

"No!" She pointed her finger at him warningly, "You're going to eat all of them!"

But Mick still snatched a cupcake and stuffed in into his mouth, "Wese are dewicious!" he cried with a mouthful of cupcake.

Joy smiled and pretended to be grossed out by the glob of cupcake mush in his mouth, "Disgusting! But it's good to know my food is appreciated."

He licked his fingers, "You made this? I didn't know you knew how to cook so well!"

"I learned back last term; when I was stuck at home. I had way too much time on my hands."

"Why did you leave anyways?" Mick asked casually, stuffing more cupcakes into his mouth.

"Problems at my dad's work," she responded vaguely, not keen to tell him the real answer.

"Well we missed you, or at least I did," Mick finished off the last of the cupcakes.

"Mick you ate all of them and we've only been talking for a few minutes!" she playfully wacked him, "Now I'm going to have to make some more!"

"We've got plenty of food Mercer, just enjoy your party," Mick commanded, handed Joy a cup filled with pink lemonade.

"Don't mind if I do," Joy mused, taking a sip from the cup.

"How about this, since there's no time like the present and we're the only ones not dancing let's-"

"Presents! I nearly forgot, thanks for reminding me Mick!" Joy exclaimed suddenly, cutting Mick off.

"Everybody go get your presents!" Joy announced and everyone went to their rooms to get their gifts. It was a rather informal gift exchange because you didn't have to buy a gift for a certain person but Joy had checked with everybody to make sure that everyone was receiving at least one gift.

Mick chuckled at Joy's enthusiasm for her party, she had changed a lot over the last year, and he didn't mind the new Joy at all. She was bold and took charge in situations like this and he admired that about her. While everyone was in their rooms Mick headed up to his room, zipping up his backpack, he observed the gifts he had brought; a book containing thousands of facts about Australia and a stuffed animal kangaroo. Originally he had decided upon giving them to Mara but the conversation with Joy had changed his mind. Mick thought Fabian might like the book and Joy had that bunny animal so the kangaroo would suit her.

As he came back down the stairs Mick caught Joy's eye and she gave him a huge smile, "More cupcakes are coming, but go slow this time!"

Mick laughed and decided that he was definitely giving the kangaroo plush to Joy.

* * *

Everyone was back from their rooms with gifts in hand and grins all around. Joy turned on some Christmas music and everybody began to exchange presents. Fabian was the first person she saw and she headed in his general direction.

She presented him with a neatly wrapped box, "Truth be told, Alfie actually suggested it."

"Alfie?" he asked suspiciously, "Do I dare open this?"

"Don't worry," giggled Joy.

Fabian's present was a new calculator watch; he used to have one but the "Amazing Alfredo" had smashed his old one as a magic trick.

"I've needed one of these!" Fabian exclaimed, hugging Joy and handing her a present.

"A cookbook? Aw Fabes, it's exactly what I wanted."

Meanwhile, Amber handed Mick a soccer ball that was signed by his favorite team, "How did you get this?"

"Daddy bought the team," Amber said simply.

"This is really something Amber, thank you," Mick said distractedly, staring at Mara and Jerome who were exchanging gifts, smiling, and kissing.

"Hey it's good to have you back Mick, how long are you staying for?" Fabian joined the two, doing his signature handshake and with Mick.

"Just for a couple of days…or until you guys run out of food."

Fabian laughed, "We're a little bit better prepared now, but happy Christmas!"

He gave Fabian the book about Australia, "Cheers mate."

Fabian tore away the wrappings and grinned at the book. He called Nina over and they became absorbed in the book.

When Joy was done handing Patricia a new set of romantic comedies Mick told her, "I have a present for you!"

She grinned. "Is it a wombat or a vegemite sandwich?"

He shook his head and gave her the kangaroo plushie, "I thought Bunsie Buns might need a friend."

She screamed, grabbed it, and hugged Mick. "Thank you!" The truth was that she didn't have Bunsie Buns anymore. Victor had burned her Bunsie Buns so that it would not raise any suspicious, but Patricia being the amazing friend she was somehow managed to find another stuffed bunny rabbit that looked just like Bunsie Buns. Sadly, A=after the ordeal with the mask Amber wanted everybody properly initiated into Sibuna and had made Eddie, Jerome, and Joy sacrifice something in a fire to prove themselves worthy. Joy had argued that she had jumped in front a ball of fire for Fabian and that should count but Amber had disagreed and made her sacrifice Bunsie Buns. At first she was unwilling, but Joy had desperately wanted to stay in Sibuna, so she had given in to Amber's demands.

Joy hugged the stuffed animal close to her chest. Before she hadn't been very good friends with Mick but now he was being so great to her. Things had changed a lot from the first of the year. She and Fabian had fallen back into their friendship again, Amber had apologized and they were friends once again, her friendship with Patricia grew stronger, she had apologized to Mara and they had made up, Alfie was a great pal, Jerome was hanging out with her ever since he had joined Sibuna, Eddie was still willingly helping with the Jackal, and surprisingly enough she and Nina had become friends. They had both apologized to each other and Joy had even encouraged what Amber liked to call, "Fabina". She no longer hated Nina for being with Fabian and even thought they were cute together. She was free and joyful once again. Life was easier not longing over someone who didn't want you. She had found herself enjoying life and being friends with everybody in the house was a relief. They were no more sides to choose and no more drama to keep her apart from her friends. Things were incredible.

Mick grinned back at Joy and he was glad that she liked the present. He had felt oddly happy about their hug. Then she gave him one last smile and ran off to make sure the party was going according to plan.

Patricia halted her and held out a gift. Joy opened it up. It was a pillow case with her favorite Hunger Games character, Peeta Mellark. She grabbed Patricia in a tight hug, "This is perfect, now I can sleep with Josh Hutcherson every night!"

Patricia giggled, "That doesn't sound wrong at all!" The two friends shared a laugh and went off to give their other friends gifts.

Joy came across Nina and Amber who were laughing at something Alfie had done.

"Hey Sibuna buddies, how's the party coming?" Joy asked.

"I give it an A, you're really awesome at planning stuff!" said Amber as she handed Joy a shopping bag.

Joy held up the clothes and admired Amber's keen fashion sense.

"These are so cute Amber!"

"Honestly, I think you need to give me some tips on fashion," Nina admitted to Joy and Amber.

"Aw you're not _that _bad," Joy patted Nina's shoulder supportively.

"Yes I am, don't lie to me!" joked Nina as she handed Joy her present, "Thanks for all of the help in Sibuna last term; we couldn't have done it without you."

Joy beamed and gave Nina a gift as well.

Nina ripped it open and inspected it, "It's a CD, thanks Joy! _Ed Sheeran_? I've heard about him, he's from England, right?"

"Yup, and his songs are to die for! Also, your present from Fabian is _amazing! _He put a lot of work into it and you're going to love it!"

Fabian heard mention of his name and popped into their conversation, "I sure hope you didn't spoil it

"Of course not, good luck!" Joy gave Fabian an encouraging thumbs up and left to give the others their presents.

"So what's this present everyone's been telling me about?" questioned Nina.

"Close your eyes," Fabian reached into his pocket and pulled out her present.

Nina opened her eyes and after his approval, she opened her eyes. In Fabian's hand was a beautiful necklace. It was one of the amulets they had used to access the tunnels underneath Anubis house. But there was something different about it. Before, it had just been a dull clay amulet and it now looked smooth and glossy. Where the animal's eye was there was a small but beautiful emerald gem.

"It's green..because ya know, erm the color of your eyes and..yeah you can turn it over," Fabian mumbled, blushing slightly.

On the other side of the amulet was a miniscule engraving.

_To Nina,_

_My Chosen One_

_With all my love, Fabian._

"Is it okay? It's kind of cheesy, I know-" but Nina cut him off with a kiss.

"It's the best! You're the best!" she squeezed his hand and beamed at him.

"I'm glad you like it, shall I put it on you?"

Nina nodded and pulled back her hair as Fabian placed the necklace around her neck.

"It looks beautiful on you," he smiled in that way that made Nina's heart race and her heart swell.

Nina blushed, "I don't know what I did to deserve you but here's your gift," she handed him an unwrapped book.

"Another signed copy of _The Solar System is Your Friend_?" Fabian said, "You remembered?"

"It was your favorite book next to the Harry Potter series, how could I forget that?"

Fabian threw his arms around Nina, thinking that this was probably the best Christmas he'd had so far.

Amber raced over to them, "Aww you two are adorable!" she cried, joining the two of them and creating a group hug.

"Amber we were in kind of in the middle of something," Fabian said in an exasperated tone.

"I know it was such a cute moment! Anyways, here's your first gift as a couple" Amber presented them with a pink scrapbook labeled "Fabina memories".

Nina could not help but smile. Last year when Sibuna was just forming, she and Fabian had been sneaking down into the attic together and Amber had caught them. Instead of telling her that they were searching for an ancient, Egyptian treasure they told her the two of them were going on secret dates. But Amber had made them a scrapbook and had told Mick, so they gave in and told her the truth. Funny enough, that started Sibuna, in a way. Could such a small, insignificant thing create a lifetime of memories?

"Is this the same one from last year?" laughed Fabian, opening it up.

Nina glanced down at the book and was surprised to see that the pages were not empty.

The first page held two flattened chunks of a golden looking item, "Part of the crowns you two won from being Prom King and Queen last year," Amber explained.

Nina flipped the page to scraps of paper with writing on them and looked at Amber uncertainly, "Old riddles from finding the Cup of Ankh. I mean, that's when you two fell in love!" Amber cried.

Fabian and Nina thanked Amber for the wonderful present, just as she was about to say something Alfie walked in with her present.

Amber let out a shriek, "Alfie you did not!"

Alfie was holding a tiny black kitten with that had a pink Christmas around its neck.

Amber screamed and ran up to Alfie to snatch the kitten out of his hands, "This is the most adorable thing, I Amber Millington, have ever seen!"

"Victor's going to throw a fit when he sees that," Jerome smirked, "And he's going to throw it in the streets."

Amber gasped and clutched the kitten even harder.

"Nope, he gave me permission," Alfie told everyone smugly.

Everyone gasped.

"That is so _not_ Victor!" said a baffled Amber.

Alfie shrugged, "Guess he's changed."

"Well that's good because I _love _my present, thank you beau!" Amber hugged Alfie and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Ow ow!" teased Eddie.

Alfie merely stood, blushing and speechless.

Mara and Jerome walked over to Nina and placed a stack of DVDs in her arms.

"We thought it was time you got a taste of quality British telly," said Mara.

"Over the summer you can watch this instead of that American crap like Jersey Shore," Jerome laughed.

"Doctor Who?" Nina questioned, examining the cases.

"You'll be addicted, just give it a few days," Jerome said confidently.

"I think I'll watch some of it over break while I'm at Grans," Nina grinned at the two of them, "Thanks guys! Oh and Mara here's your present…"

Mara grabbed the present from Nina, and as she unwrapped it a huge grin spread across her face, "A Ravenclaw scarf and socks? You know me too well!" they gave each other a quick hug.

As Mara began to walk away Nina grabbed Jerome's arm and whispered into his ear, "Sibuna meeting tonight at nine in the library."

"What for?" Jerome asked.

"Just a Sibuna dinner together before the holidays, I mean who knows? We might learn of another ancient Egyptian artifact we have to find to save our lives!"

Jerome chuckled, "Alright, I'll be there."

"So what did you get me for Christmas, slimeball?" Patricia crossed her arms, staring at Eddie with one eyebrow raised.

"Nothing," Eddie shrugged, popping a sugar cookie into his mouth.

Patricia stared at him incredulously.

Eddie laughed, "Just kidding, calm yourself Yacker!" he handed her a small silver box.

"This better not be one of your childish pranks," snapped Patricia, opening the box.

But when she opened it up the box she was quiet. It was the letter P, in an elegant manner on the end of a necklace.

"This is beautiful," Patricia whispered, awed.

"It's real silver," Eddie beamed proudly.

"You didn't have to spend this much money on me," she thrust the box back into Eddie's hands but he wouldn't take it.

"But I wanted to," he smiled, unusually sweet.

"Maybe you're not too bad after all Slimeball," Patricia put on the necklace and gave Eddie just the slightest of smiles.

"So what'd you get _me _then?"

"It's not as expensive as yours, but I hope you like it," Patricia hesitantly handed him a rather large box.

Opening it up, Eddie cried out happily, "A new skateboard! Victor threw away my last one and you got me a new one! Yacker you're the best!"

He grabbed Patricia and twirled her around, but almost hesitantly put her down, unsure of how she would react.

But then Patricia surprised everyone by cupping Eddie's face and kissing him.

Everyone in the room clapped because they had been a bit worried about Patricia and Eddie not acting like a proper couple. The two were always bickering and it seemed as if their prolonged fights were masking another problem.

"You can stop kissing now," Amber hissed, disgusted.

Finally the two broke away and Patricia turned to Amber, "I'll do what I like, thank you very much," she retorted snarky tone, promptly kissing the already surprised Eddie one last time and exiting the dramatic scene.

Now that everyone had their gifts Joy decided to end the party, "Thanks everybody, I hope you can all agree that this is the best Christmas Party Anubis house has ever seen!"

Anubis house cheered and whooped.

"It wouldn't be so great without our party planning queen, how about a round of applause for our own…Joy Mercer!" Alfie shouted and the house enthusiastically clapped for her.

"Aw thanks guys," Joy blushed, "Now everybody clean up, get ready for bed, and have a happy Christmas wherever you're going!"

But Victor, their house caretaker, stood in the doorway menacingly, with a wild look in his eyes, "Nobody here is going _anywhere_."

* * *

**Victor is always ruining Christmas parties. I'm really excited to write this Christmas fic. I plan on keeping this story running until around Christmas. What do you think? Constructive criticism is always welcomed! My friend pointed out that I do long author's notes but it's fun talking to you guys! Sorry about all of the fluffy present giving, the plot and such will be introduced next chapter. PLEASE REVIEW OR THE NEXT CHAPTER WON'T BE POSTED! 5 reviews would be lovely, and more would be presents under the tree! And don't stop reviewing, reviews are the best! I love hearing from my readers! If you want a small prequel to this check out my House of Halloween story. Don't forget, REVIEW FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! Thanks!**


	2. Once a Sibuna, Always a Sibuna

**December 14: Once a Sibuna, Always a Sibuna**

"Excuse me?" Amber put her hands on her hips.

"Let me clarify, you are not allowed to leave," said Victor.

Jerome peered at Victor quizzically, "What do you mean by that?"

"There is a killer on the loose near town and so far he has killed three people," Victor stared at the kids with an expression that could only mean he was serious, "The school has decided that it is not safe to let you leave the school until the murderer is found."

"But our holiday starts tomorrow!" Patricia cried.

"I am aware of that fact Miss Williamson, but there is nothing I can do."

"That's absurd, our families are expecting us!" argued Fabian.

Trudy walked in, "Victor's right. None of you are allowed to leave the school grounds until he is caught." She continued, "Your parents will be contacted as soon as possible."

"I'm sure they would agree that safety is your top priority," Victor said.

"I don't think my Gran would let me stay if she knew how safe the crazy spirits and mental people obsessed with eternal life were," Nina mumbled under her breath.

"What was that, Miss Martin?" Victor pointed a stern finger at Nina.

"I said…how long will it take to find the killer?" she lied.

"I have no idea; it might take weeks to find the murderer!" Victor replied angrily.

Eddie groaned, "So we're stuck here until then? It's supposed to be Christmas break!"

"Why can't our parents just come and pick up us directly?" the always logical Mara suggested.

"The city is not letting anyone in or out until this murderer is caught. He has killed three people merely today in the city's limits and people have spotted him and he is still here. There are police stationed outside of major public areas, so right now there are police stationed outside the school's perimeter patrolling day and night. Anybody living within a five mile radius is advised to not leave their house until he is caught. This includes all of you," Trudy explained.

This news had certainly dampened the Christmas spirit and everybody was murmuring and complaining rather loudly.

Nina broke in, "Do we know any of the people's killed?"

Victor did not answer immediately, he merely looked at the window into the snowy night. After a while he said hoarsely, "I do not know who has been killed, only the number."

Nina stared at Victor suspiciously, not sure whether she could trust him.

"But some of us have plans for the holidays that we've been planning for weeks," Fabian protested.

"This is the first time in my life that my Dad is home for Christmas and Poppy and I are going to be forced to stay here!" Jerome shouted indignantly.

But Victor had heard enough. "You cannot leave until this man is caught and that is final!" Nina noticed that not only was Victor annoyed, but there was an underlying emotion. It was pure, unprecedented fear. Was he actually worried for their safety? He shook with not only rage, but also terror.

"So call your parents and cancel your plans," Victor went on, "because you are staying here until the madman is caught."

Everyone groaned and Victor walked back to his office without another word.

"Bahumbug much?" Alfie grumbled, kicking a stray wrapper.

"Children you can't blame Victor for this. The entire city is enforcing this on every school in the area. In fact, a detective is going to inform us more about the situation in the morning," Trudy wished everybody a goodnight and a happy Christmas before departing for bed.

"Daddy is not going to be pleased," Amber opened up her phone and began to make a call.

"Gran isn't going to be happy either," Nina agreed, "She's going to have a lonely Christmas until I get home."

"What are we supposed to do until he is caught?" Mick asked. Of course his mum would be worried about his safety but he would be safe here and she would enjoy her friend's house.

"Schoolwork?" suggested Mara.

Alfie made a retching noise, "Boring!"

"It could be worse, at least we're together," Joy was always the positive one.

Everyone mumbled in agreement but went back to their rooms in slightly less cheerful moods than before. They had to call their parents and tell them why they weren't going to be home right away.

They didn't know it, but this was just the start another series of unexpected and bizarre events at the Anubis boarding house.

This was just the start of another wild adventure.

They could never escape the true horrors of Anubis house.

But this time it was different.

This time the dangers weren't hidden in the cellar like the Cup of Ankh or in the library like the Mask of Anubis.

The time the dangers were lurking in the shadows, outside of Anubis house.

Waiting, like a predator stalking its pray. Watching silently, ready to pounce.

* * *

Fabian finally let go of Nina's hand as they reached her room, the news about the murders still sinking in.

"See you at nine in the library still? Nina paused, pondering for a moment, "I was thinking about cancelling it because we aren't leaving for the holidays yet but…"

"Couldn't resist sneaking out into the middle of the night?" Fabian grinned.

"You know me too well," she smiled guiltily, "Who knows what other mysteries might be waiting for us?"

"That's the thing though, what else is there for Sibuna to do?" Fabian inquired.

Nina's smile faded. She had been worrying about that very thing. What was the point of having Sibuna meetings anymore? Nothing unusual had been happening since the Mask and their gatherings had been pointless. Was it really time to disband Sibuna?

"I don't know," she answered honestly, "While I love having a quiet life some small part of me wishes we could have maybe…"

"Another adventure?" Fabian grinned.

Nodding, Nina smiled. He always understood her.

"Near death experiences and adventures are my weakness, but all joking aside Fabian…there's honestly nothing else for Sibuna to do. We've uncovered every clue and solved every mystery. I feel…oh gosh this might sound crazy," said Nina,

Fabian laughed, "Nina if you haven't realized by now that I'm good with crazy then we've certainly got some serious things to discuss."

"Alright. Well, when we were searching for the Cup of Ankh or the Mask of Anubis the house felt…alive."

"Alive?" Fabian asked uncertainly.

"It was like the house wasn't just bricks and cement, it was an actual person; a person that I had a connection with. The house would breathe and whisper things to me."

"I believe you," Fabian said carefully, "But what has that got to do with stopping Sibuna?"

"I don't feel the house anymore," Nina explained, "It's quiet now because I think that it's showed us all of its secrets."

"That's why you think there's no use to Sibuna anymore? Are you sure, though?"

"No Fabian, I'm not sure. Maybe I'll consult with the house though, just to be safe." Nina replied sarcastically.

Fabian let out a short laugh, "Don't you get witty with me now. But this house is so old and creepy. We've seriously found every scrap of paper with Robert Frobisher-Smythe's handwriting, discovered every secret tunnel underneath the school, and successfully assembled every Egyptian artifact?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Well then tell everyone tonight at the meeting that there's nothing else Sibuna can do anymore."

"It's not that simple!"

"Yes it is, I'm sure they'll understand."

"Are you kidding me? Fabian are we talking about the same people? They won't want to quit Sibuna!"

"They're not quitting, they're letting it go."

"Well then they won't let it go! No matter what I say!"

Fabian put his hand on Nina's shoulder, "You're Sibuna's fearless leader and even though you need to end it they'll understand."

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do," Fabian added, "You've always lead us in the right direction and if the right direction is ending Sibuna then so be it."

Nina's heart swelled with affection for Fabian and she threw her arms around him, "You always know what to say. It should be you telling Sibuna the news, not me!"

Fabian chuckled and as they let go of the hug he asked, "So you'll be telling everyone about your decision tonight?"

"I think so," Nina said.

"Good luck."

"Who needs luck when I've got you?" Nina grinned at him and departed into her room.

He watched her smile as she closed the door. He felt so lucky to have her in his life not only as his best friend, but as somebody who would love him. After the events of last term, things had changed. He had asked her to be his girlfriend again and he had vowed to make sure things went right this time. For once, everything had been going perfect.

"You've got it good mate," the sound of Mick's voice broke Fabian from his thoughts.

He looked up and saw Mick standing in the hallway looking solemn.

"Thanks man, but what can I say? I really like her," Fabian said, "She's the one."

"How do you know?"

"How do I know what?"

"How do you know that she's the one?"

Fabian looked at Mick and sadly remembered how Mick still felt about Mara. He still felt guilty watching Jerome and Mara. Mara had never quite ended things with Mick but he had caught her kissing Jerome and the abruptness of it all broke Mick's heart. Fabian felt sorry for his best friend.

"I just _know._ Whenever I'm around her, we kiss, she smiles at me, we hug or I look at her I feel like I'm where I belong."

"Just as cheesy as ever Rutter."

"It's the truth," Fabian shrugged, chuckling.

Mick looked up at him with hopeful eyes and Fabian smiled sadly back.

"I feel that way about Mara but is she the one?"

"I think that when you find her, the one, you'll know. No matter where you are, she's always on your mind. But," Fabian added, "She has to love you back, because the one-sided lover is the cursed lover."

"That's the thing, I don't know if Mara loves me back or not."

"So ask her."

"That's what Joy said to do."

"She's right, it can't hurt. But what exactly do you want to hear? That she still loves you or do you want to have an actual breakup?"

"That's the problem mate, I don't know what I want," he sighed, "Joy's right, I should get closure and get over her but my heart _still _pounds in my chest whenever I'm near her."

"Maybe you do still love her, but you're going to be miserable. You just need to peel the band-aid off and get over her and closure is the first step to that."

They both knew it was never_ that_ easy to get over someone you loved. But deep down Mick knew Fabian was right.

"Since when did you become such an expert on love?"

"Ah," Fabian chuckled, "Amber..she er.. coached me last year when I was having problems with Nina."

"Problems?"

"We broke up and were both unhappy alone. But we had obstacles along the way that stopped us from getting back together."

Their minds both immediately went to Joy. Fabian felt a twinge of guilt for thinking about her in that way and Mick experienced a sense of bitterness know that he knew how she had felt.

"You seem to be pretty okay now though, right?"

"Yeah, but Amber poured her infinite wisdom of love into me and it's still stuck. Hey, maybe you should ask her for help!"

"Last time I tried that, I ended up in pom-poms. Never again," groaned Mick.

"Actually that's not a bad idea! All we need is another shirt that says _**Mara we need closure**__,_ more pom-poms, and a spiffy new cheer routine!" Fabian joked.

"That's your advice to me? I want my money back!"

"Sorry, no refunds. As your erm…dating…" Fabian contemplated his title.

"Consulting dating guru?" offered Mick.

"Yeah—wait no!"

"Fabian Rutter, consulting dating guru, kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?" teased Mick.

Laughing, Fabian bit his lip and shook his head regretfully, "Perhaps I'll leave that bit off of my resume."

It had been a while since they had done this, acted like best friends. Last year Fabian seemed to have no time for friends outside of Sibuna and had been preoccupied in the search for the mask.

"I'm glad you're back Mick," Fabian sighed happily. But his unsaid question still hung in the air between them _But for how long? _They both knew Mick would eventually have to leave. But there were complications in Mick staying: Mara, his family in Australia, school, and more. Was it worth it though, to be among his best mates once again? Mick would have to ponder his decision, luckily he had a lot of time on his hands now.

"Good to be back mate," Mick grinned and then the two set off for their respective bedrooms.

However, only one planned to go to sleep.

"Pssst!"

Fabian glanced around, hoping to identify the sound's location.

"Pssst! Fabian!" he recognized it as Amber Millington's voice.

She stood in her doorway, looking impatient while brushing her impossibly long hair.

"What is it Amber?"

"You should take Nina on a date tonight!"

"When would that be, exactly?"

"Perhaps after the Sibuna meeting tonight?" she suggested.

"It'll be late, I'm rather sure she will be exhausted."

"Oh come on, you know her; Nina won't mind staying up late!"

"Alright" Fabian mused, considering the idea, "What will we do for our date?"

"How should I know? You're the one who usually comes up with that cheesy rubbish that Nina likes."

"Rubbish?!"

"You know what I mean!" Amber said defensively, waving her hairbrush at him.

"Erm, well we could go for a walk in the moonlight perhaps?"

Amber considered the notion for a moment and then nodded, "Perfect, it's _so_ romantic!"

"That's me, ever so romantic Fabian. Thanks for reminding me that we need more proper dates."

"As your dating guru it's my pleasure. As you friend, however, why haven't you taken her on more dates?"

"We've gone on loads dates!"

Amber arched her eyebrows, "Name one."

"Well we er..we went to the movies a while back."

"That's it? Are you kidding me Rutter?" Amber put a hand to her forehead as if she was suffering from a pounding headache.

So what if he hadn't taken Nina on a lot of dates? She wasn't the type to be artificial when it came to dating, at least he didn't think so. She never seemed unhappy around him. Perhaps they would have to go on more dates. But what kind of things would Nina like to do with him?

Amber interrupted his thinking, "You're _so _lucky you have me."

"I guess I am," he admitted, "Thank you Amber, for all the dating advice with Nina. I guess I was a little skeptical at first but you've turned out to be pretty helpful."

Beaming Amber inquired, "Does this mean I get to help you plan more dates?"

"Of course," he sighed dramatically, "If you must."

She squealed happily and went back into her room.

Fabian laughed as he walked back into his own. As he entered the room, Eddie was blasting some sort of screamo music.

"I can barely hear myself think over this loud ruckus," Fabian mumbled to himself.

Eddie lay on his bed, shoving crisps into his mouth, "Dude I had a genius idea for a date with Nina," he yelled over the music.

"Wait, how did you know I was going to take Nina on a date tonight?"

"I overhead you and Blondie talking about it," Eddie replied.

"How in the world did you hear us talking over this music?" Fabian asked, bewildered.

Ignoring him Eddie said, "So you'll need a goat, some watermelon, and a bucket of paint-"

Fabian rolled his eyes, "Though I'm _sure _your inspired date was magnificent but I already have one of my own planned."

"You? Plan a date?" Eddie said sarcastically, "What is it, a midnight walk with only the bright moonlight to guide you?"

Fabian's ears went bright red and Eddie burst out laughing, "Are you kidding me? I was joking! I didn't even think _you_ could plan that tacky of a date!"

Scowling, Fabian muttered, "It's not tacky, it's _romantic_."

Eddie laughed, nearly choking on his food, "What did Nina have to say about this date?"

"Well er, I haven't told her yet. It's going to be a surprise."

"And if she doesn't like it?"

"If Nina doesn't fancy the date then I suppose I will ask her what she would like to do."

Eddie guffawed, "You need to man up Rutter, you're supposed to wear the pants in the relationship!"

"Nina isn't like that, we are equal in our relationship," Fabian retorted.

"Dude you are like the biggest pushover I know," said Eddie.

Fabian groaned, "Why does _everybody _say that? I am not a pushover!"

"I don't know who you're trying to fool Rutter," Eddie shook his head and laughed.

"Okay fine I might be a _little bit _of a pushover," Fabian snapped, "But Nina likes me just how I am."

"Gee that's so sweet! You two accept each other how you are, I am so _jealous _of your perfect little relationship," teased Eddie.

"I'm sure you are. But what about you and Patricia? She bosses you are like none other and quite frankly, she seems to be wearing the pants in _that _relationship," Fabian shook his head in mock disapproval, "_You_ need to be a man."

Eddie snorted, "I am a man and also, what goes on between me and my girlfriend is none of your business."

"Wait a minute!" Fabian sputtered, "You were just invading my privacy involving me and Nina, yet I can't bother you about your personal life?"

"Exactly," Eddie grinned smugly.

"Hypocrite."

"Pushover."

* * *

Joy's eyes snapped open.

Her best friend, Patricia, was leaning over her bed and shaking her violently.

"It's nearly time to go!"

Sure enough, Joy glanced over at the clock and it shone the time: 8:51

Groaning, she rolled out of bed and the two crept out silently, sneaking past the sleeping figure of Mara.

Joy shut the door to her room as quietly as possible. She and Patricia started to tiptoe towards the library when she slapped her forehead.

"I almost forgot the food!"

"Hurry up and get it-oh never mind I'll just head down by myself," whispered Patricia impatiently, making her way to the front door.

Silently, Joy walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge but it made a large squeaking sound. She heard footsteps and covered her mouth, sliding down to the floor so she was out of view. Someone turned the light in the kitchen on and Joy was sure that Victor was going to catch her.

"What are you doing in here, Mercer?" Mick stood in a pair of pajama bottoms and an old, worn gray t-shirt, holding a box of cereal. His blonde hair was slightly disheveled and oddly enough, Joy found the sight of him somewhat endearing.

"You scared the life out of me!" Joy stood up and smacked Mick on the shoulder, "I thought you were Victor!"

Mick laughed and poured the cereal into his mouth.

"That's not sanitary you dummy," laughing, she snatched the cereal box out of his hands and began to get a bowl from the cupboard.

"You're avoiding my question," Mick saw Joy struggle to reach the top shelf where the bowls were and opened it for her, "Shorty."

Joy bit her lip, jokingly scowling at Mick and began to pour the cereal, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Getting a snack obviously, I'm starving!"

"But the party was only two hours ago, how are you still hungry?" Boys. Always hungry!

"I'm convinced there's a black hole in my stomach, sucking everything I'm eating," he continued, "So no matter how much I eat I'm still hungry."

Joy giggled, "Everything makes sense now," she grabbed some milk from the refrigerator and poured it into the bowl.

Mick grabbed a spoon and stuck it into the bowl.

"Thanks for all of the help," Joy told him sarcastically, peering into the fridge for food.

"Hey, I never asked you to do it for me," Mick shoveled cereal into his mouth, "Also, you never answered my question," he pointed out.

"I just wanted a midnight snack," she lied, grabbing a platter of cupcakes from the fridge.

Raising his eyebrows suspiciously Mick retorted, "It's not even nine o'clock."

"Well actually it's a snack for…Alfie," it wasn't entirely a lie; the snacks were for Alfie…and Eddie…and pretty much everyone else in Sibuna.

"Alfie?" For almost a second, Mick felt a pang of jealously, but quickly dismissed the feeling.

"You know Alfie, always hungry," Joy continued, "He asked me to grab him a snack because he didn't want to get caught and have to clean with the toothbrush again."

"That's awfully nice of you."

"It sure is, isn't it?" Joy flashed a quick smile and stepped out of the kitchen.

Mick thought Joy was acting a little weird but he was impossibly tired form the plane ride and decided to let it go. He set his bowl in the sink and went to turn off the lights.

"Goodnight Joy and thanks for inviting me for the Christmas Party."

Joy spun around, "You're welcome. Too bad you're going to be stuck here for a while."

"I don't mind it," shrugging, Mick smiled at Joy.

Joy smiled back and waited until she was sure Mick was back in his room. She felt an odd sense of happiness with Mick back. She was now just realizing just how much she had missed him. When the lights in the attic, where Mick had been sleeping in, finally went, out she snuck out the door and began to descent through the cold night to the library.

* * *

Finally, all of the Sibuna members had been gathered in the library and Nina allowed everyone to eat some of the treats Joy had provided.

Clearing her throat Nina began, "Now that we're all here I'd like to bring up an idea I've been thinking about for a while. It might be time to…" she bit her lip nervously.

"Get on with it," Jerome muttered sleepily.

"If you can't handle the late nights then you can't handle Sibuna," snapped Patricia, "Also it's barely nine so unless you have a bedtime I suggest you shut it Clarke."

"Listen to me, _Williamson_-"Jerome began scathingly.

"Anyways, what were you saying Nina?" Fabian interrupted, his sympathetic eyes watching Nina carefully.

"As I was saying," Nina continued, "I think now it seems like we don't need to…well _do _Sibuna meetings anymore or anything Sibuna for a matter of fact."

She waited for somebody to say something, anything at all.

"What do you guys think about discontinuing Sibuna?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh come on, I just joined Sibuna. Now you're not doing it anymore?" groaned Joy.

"Don't you think you should've at least asked me first? I am the Osirian," said Eddie, his eyebrows raised and arms crossed.

"Think of this _fantastic_ decision by yourself?" scoffed Patricia.

"You can't get rid of Sibuna! There are too many memories!" Amber cried.

Nina groaned, of course they would react like this. If they would just let her explain the reasons behind her decision it would all make sense…

"OI!" Fabian yelled and everyone went quiet, "You all ought to let Nina finish speaking."

A loud thumping sound interrupted the conversation and everyone jumped.

"That wasn't me!" Alfie exclaimed immediately.

"Way to draw attention away from yourself, doofus," Patricia muttered.

"Actually he's right," Joy said, holding up a book, "It was this."

Eddie took the book from her hands and inspected it. The cover was red and it was covered in dust and cobwebs.

"That writing looks ancient, what do you think it means?" Fabian asked.

"Well this is an impossibly old library so therefore it would have impossibly old books," Jerome commented.

"Uh, are you guys idiots? It says _The Descendants_," Eddie remarked, scoffing.

"No it doesn't Eddie, it looks like a bunch of scribbles to me," Joy stared at Eddie with a puzzled expression.

"I can read it too," Nina snatched the book from Eddie and examined it.

"Well of course the _Americans_ can read it," Jerome spat.

"Nina, this is a clue! It was a message from Sarah! Sibuna is back on, right?" Amber asked desperately.

"Not likely," Nina tried rubbing off some of the dust, in vain.

"Isn't somebody going to open it?" Alfie asked eagerly.

Nina opened the book and flipped through the pages. The pages looked worn but they all were blank. It looked like some pages had been ripped out but other than that, nothing.

"Empty," Nina said, shrugging, "Sometimes a book is just a book."

"But it can't be empty! That means that it was only a coincidence and then Sibuna will be over," Amber frantically searched through the pages for something, anything at all but it was just a blank book.

Fabian plucked the book from Amber's hand, "Don't you all see though? We're all searching for ways to keep Sibuna alive but the mystery days are over. Senkhara and Rufus are dead, the cup of Ankh is useless, and the mask is harmless without the gem."

Everyone sat in silence after Fabian spoke, letting his words sink into their hearts and pondering over them.

"I know everyone wants another riddle to come along but it just won't. We don't even talk about anything special at these Sibuna meetings. So let's give up Sibuna. The times were great fun but now it's time to let it go," Fabian said.

Amber was the first to speak, "Once a Sibuna, always a Sibuna," she whispered sadly.

Murmuring in agreement, everyone nodded their heads, finally accepting the fate of Sibuna.

But then the silence was broken by a yelp.

"Something fell out of that book!" cried Patricia, kneeling down to the floor to grab a spare bit of parchment.

It was an old, worn down piece of paper with elegant cursive handwriting.

"RFS," read Patricia.

"Robert Frobisher-Smythe!" exclaimed Alfie.

Unfolding it, Patricia began to read from the paper. Clearing her throat she began,

"_Reincarnation of she who makes magic_

_Her suicide by venom was tragic_

_But I must confess_

_The death of the pharaohess_

_Was not an accident after all_

_Listen to the true story of her final fall_

_Paper leaves and the king's toxic bite_

_The killer vanished into the night_

_With the red of the ruler_

_The man who had killed her_

_Was rewarded with eternal life_

_After a long strife_

_Of searching for glory_

_The moral of this story_

_Is to fix history before it's repeated_

_Or love and lives will be depleted_

_Her descendant awaits protection_

_Her life in the hands of those with a connection_

_On the night of her death_

_Thousands of years later the descendant is left_

_Vulnerable to the mental one_

_The connection will become undone_

_If they cannot find a way_

_To protect those they cannot save_

_Only one thing can fix all that will be broken_

_Start by searching for the token_

_Hidden in the arsenal of paper_

_You'll find clues to save her_

_The other ankh placed before journey's end_

_Will help you to send_

_A message to the goddess_

_But before you protest_

_Know that the hunt will be long_

_To find the song_

_The anthem that sings of safety_

_But leads to the final brew that protects this royal lady_

_Good luck on this journey_

_You'll find books are your key."_

"That Robert Frobisher-Smythe was always one for rhymes and riddles wasn't he?" Alfie chuckled.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Joy held up her hands, "You just said Sibuna had no point? Then what's this? Another adventure?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Nina groaned, "I thought there were no more races to that death?"

"Maybe it's a joke?" Fabian suggested.

"It can't be, look at that handwriting!" Amber cried gleefully, "That's definitely Robert Frobisher-Smythe's! There's another adventure! Sibuna lives on!"

"Give that to me Yacker," Eddie demanded, snatching the paper from Patricia, "You guys told me about finding the cup and I obviously was involved with the mask, but I thought you said that was it?"

"It should have been," Jerome growled, "But apparently this guy just loves to leave nonsense riddles from the past for us."

"Well," Fabian mused, "We just have to dissect each parts of it bit by bit and slowly it will start to make sense."

"This was supposed to happen," Nina said angrily, "I don't want another year of racing against some supposed mental person again. I dealt with two of those types of people last year! I don't want to be in an obstacle course that my life depends on! I just want to have a normal year!" she sat on the ground and placed her face in her hands.

Fabian hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder and attempted to console her but she jerked away from him, "I cannot deal with another term of this! Last year I almost lost my Gran and _my life_!" she yelled, making every Sibuna stop with their excited re-reading of the parchment.

Eddie opened his mouth to speak but Nina cut him off, "The mental one? Save those they cannot protect? I don't know if it's just me, but that sounds like another crazy person trying to kill us for some _stupid _ancient Egyptian artifact and somebody's going to die or almost die! I cannot deal with that anymore!"

Before Nina could scream anymore Amber quietly approached her and placed a finger to Nina's lips, shushing her.

"Nina, you are Sibuna's leader. You've guided us through the worst of times and been with us through the best of times. But Nina you're not alone. You have Eddie to help you, I mean he's your counterpart! That's got to mean something, right? He's your co-leader or whatever! And then there's all of us Sibunas here to help you. You've got so many people on your side, and with Jerome and Joy Sibuna is bigger and better than ever! We're all going to deal with this and we'll do it without anybody getting hurt. We're Sibunas, we can handle anything," Amber said to Nina, unusually wise.

Nina opened her mouth and then closed it again.

Perhaps Amber was right.

"Maybe," Nina took a deep breath, "Maybe nobody's in danger. Maybe this is just another mystery for Sibuna to solve."

"That's the spirit!" Joy whooped excitedly.

"That's the Nina I know," Fabian smiled.

"Sibuna is back on!" Amber cried, jumping up and down like a little kid on Christmas.

"I'm sorry I freaked out guys. To be honest, I've actually been craving another mystery," Nina confessed.

"I, for one, have not been craving to be kidnapped by any psychos but I'd like to properly participate in your club here," Jerome mused.

"Me too!" quipped Joy, "I'm ready to be a Sibuna with you guys!"

"I figure I have to do this either way," Eddie shrugged nonchalantly, "Me being the Osirian and all."

"Okay Sibunas, tomorrow we'll research this clue and then get back into business," Nina grinned and put her right hand over her eye, "_Sibuna_!"

After mimicking the Sibuna gesture (Jerome, Eddie, and Joy rather poorly), everyone set off back to Anubis house, feeling a little more energetic than when they had entered the library. They had all taken pictures of the riddle on their phones, just for good measure.

"You'll keep the clue safe, won't you Patricia?" Fabian asked as he hesitantly handed Patricia the paper.

"Oh quit your worrying, I'll keep a close eye on it," she winked.

Fabian raised his eyebrow and Patricia punched him in the shoulder, "No faith in me at all, Rutter?"

"Er well.."

But as Alfie ran past Patricia he knocked her out of his way, sending the parchment flying out of her hands.

"Watch it doofus!" she shook her fist, and in her rage she forgot about the riddle.

Little did she know this little mistake would lead to a world of trouble.

Little did she know this little mistake could break apart friendships, reveal secrets, and bring so much chaos.

* * *

**A new mystery for Sibuna! Also silly Patricia, keep track of your riddles, there could be murderers hanging around. Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys! Considering the fact that the first chapter presented no conflict I am pleasantly surprised! Thanks SO MUCH to my friend Emily aka Magnolia Sparrow-Bane-Torres for editing this (a beta reader?), the previous chapter, and all the rest! I hope you guys have as much reading this as I do writing this! Hope your December is going great and you aren't choking on the amount of fluff in this. Don't forget, 5 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW or Victor might make you clean the toilet bowl with a tooth brush until he can see his face in it. I don't think even toilet bowls appreciate having Victor's face on them. Thanks everyone and be happy that it's 12/12/12.**


	3. Sweet Dreams

**December 14: Sweet Dreams**

_The scene was always the same. _

_Senkhara, Sibuna, and Victor gathered in the library. The final battle was about to unfold._

_Joy was on the ground, her pale body silent and unmoving. All of the Sibuna members (plus Eddie) except for Nina and Fabian, were gathered around her. Fabian was caught in the middle, about to race after Nina but had stopped because Joy had thrown herself in front of Fabian to stop an oncoming fireball sent from Nina. The fireball had caused Joy to collapse and she lay there, with her skin like death. Even Victor had rushed to her and desparately tried, in vain, to restore life to her cold body. Senkhara had been distracted by Rufus' act of stupidity and foolishness. Because he was not the Paragon or the Osirian, the mask had condemned him, and he fell into the pits and chaos of hell. Nina had taken this opportunity as a chance to regain her body back. The golden, mechanical look in her eye shad faded back to their natural green color and her skin had stopped glowing. She looked at the mess she had made and the guilt of her actions was overwhelming. What if Joy died because of her? Joy was not her favorite person in the world but she had never wished that she would die._

_What lay before Nina's eyes was hopelessness. She knew what she would have to do; take the mask and become a God with Senkhara. _

_Maybe if they left Joy would revive._

_Maybe._

_Her terrified eyes locked with Fabian's. Somehow, he understand what she needed to do. _

_She mouthed a goodbye to him. The words, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," came to her mind._

_Would she forget him, her friends or her family as a God in the afterlife? She hoped not._

_But she had to cast aside these thoughts, tt was time to leave._

_But Senkhara pointed a furious and ghostly finger at her._

"_Chosen One you are nothing but a reckless child. You think that you can escape me? I am going to become a God and a puny human like you cannot stop me!" Nina knew that every second wasted, was one less second to save Joy's life and time was running out fast. She had to do something._

_Nina began to open her mouth and protest that she would wear the mask again but Senkhara's merciless stare quieted her._

"_You destroyed your last chance, Chosen One," growled Senkhara and Nina began to feel a burning sensation on her arm. "But it is not enough to punish you this way; I will kill you and your precious boy as well!"_

"_No!" Nina cried at the same as Fabian._

"_I am to be obeyed, and let this be a lesson to you, never defy me!" roared Senkhara as she sent a curse flying towards Fabian and Nina._

_In that moment, time had started to slow. As everything began to happen in slow motion, Nina knew that her life was going to end soon. The curse felt like an electrical shock had begun to flow all through her body. She cried out in pain and her knees crumpled. Fabian caught her and tried to lift her up but he too began to feel weak, and the two collapsed to the floor together. As the curse flowed through Fabian and Nina's veins, with their last bits of strength the two reached out in the last moments of their lives. Their fingers found each other and clasped one another. No words were spoken, there was no time for that. And as quickly as it had started, it was over. The young lovers were dead, their lives only a quick and quiet insignificant blink. Their deaths were a cruel reminder of the harshness of life, their dead figures, still holding hands even in death, a horrifyingly beautiful thing to behold. Mocked by the power of their love, but their deaths were a bleak and awful sight._

_While their friends watched in horror and despair at the image of Nina and Fabian sprawled on the ground with only their cold, dead fingers touching each other, Senkhara only laughed._

_Victor checked Joy's pulse one last time, and was certain that she was dead as well. It was over now._

"_I will use the Osirian to become a God; he will still work as if he was the Paragon. You are useless now Chosen One, and soon all of your friends will be dead," Senkhara bellowed an Egyptian incantation and opened her arms wide as beams of bright lights shot from her hands._

_In the hospital, Gran's monitors began to beep and then flat lined. Alfie and Amber grabbed at the parts of their body where their mark was at and clutched them in pain. Even Jerome, who had not been marked, began to feel feeble. Patricia fell to the ground out of intense pain but Eddie caught her._

"_Yacker…Patricia don't you leave me. Don't you dare close your eyes," Eddie tried to hold her up but watched in horror as her eyelids slowly began to droop._

"_Save your friends and come with me, Osirian. Take the mask," Senkhara whispered cunningly, holding out the golden mask._

_Almost robotically, Eddie carefully placed Patricia on the ground put on the mask. Nina would have been willing to save her friends, and so would Eddie. Senkhara's ghost plunged into Eddie's body and as the portal to the afterlife was opening Eddie fought to gain control of his body._

"_But…my friends, why are they still dying?!" he cried._

"_You foolish boy, forget them. We will be Gods soon!"_

_Senkhara's cruel laugh echoed harshly on the walls and the two vanished into the portal, leaving the Sibuna members to die. _

_The familiar voice of Sarah Frobisher-Smythe rang through the hopeless scene, "Paragon and Osirian, you must act fast. He is going to try to kill the descendant when she is most vulnerable. If you don't stop him, your lives are in grave danger as well as your friends. Make haste and protect the descendant or you will not be so lucky like last time. Let this be a message to you, death will surely come if the descendant is not saved. The descendant's life is valuable. Hurry chosen ones."_

Eddie sat bolt upright and screamed. He was drenched with sweat and was breathing heavily.

Fabian fumbled to turn on the light, "Nightmares again?"

"The same ones, always about Senkhara."

They heard footsteps approaching and they anticipated Victor barging in, demanding to know why they were awake at such _unreasonable_ hours.

But it was Nina who walked in, with a terrified expression strewn plainly across her face. She was also Eddie's counterpart, the Chosen One, the Paragon. Eddie and Nina had a special connection because of their tied bloodlines that had always worked together in Egyptian times. Nina and Eddie often shared dreams and nightmares, now more than ever. It had been months since they had found the mask, but the aftermath of the horror still lingered.

Fabian opened his arms and Nina ran into them. He hugged her tightly and she took comfort in his soothing presence.

"Fabian you and I were dead, everyone is Sibuna was dead…even Gran," Nina whispered.

Her stroked her hair and whispered reassuringly, "Everything's alright Nina. That's not how it happened, you hear me?"

"I know…" Nina squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the awful images by hugging Fabian harder.

"Okay lovebirds, I'm still in the room!" Eddie broke their moment with his sardonic remark.

Fabian overlooked Eddie's comment and kissed Nina's forehead before he broke away from her, "So do you think the dream could be a message?"

"I'm not sure. It could've just been a nightmare."

"But if we're having the same dream over and over again that's got to mean something, right?" Eddie asked.

"Amber, Nina, and I have had shared dreams before but we were able to stop some of the things from happening," Fabian added helpfully. "What was the dream about anyways?"

Nina and Eddie explained the dream. However, Nina tweaked the ending of the dream a bit. She told Fabian that Sarah Frobisher-Smythe had actually just warned them that the day where Cleopatra's descendant was most vulnerable was fast approaching.

"But this dream still feels…different," Eddie refused to let this go.

"I guess it just means that we need to find out who Cleopatra's descendant is, and fast," Nina shrugged and leaned sleepily against Fabian.

Eddie knew that their lives were in danger. In the dream Sarah had warned them that he and Nina, plus the rest of Sibuna could get hurt if they didn't protect the descendant, whoever that was. But why wasn't she telling Fabian? And who was the insane man? Rufus? No, he was dead. They had watched him fall into the pit of doom. The dream had specified that it was a man, so it couldn't be Vera. But he still couldn't rule out that possibility. She had slithered away during the terrifying moments when Senkhara had tried to take over Nina. Eddie decided that Sibuna could figure this out tomorrow. It was three a.m. and Christmas Break was starting. He was determined to enjoy it, even if he was stuck at school.

"Well we'll do more research tomorrow, sound good?" Eddie yawned.

Nina nodded and went to walk away but then Fabian remembered. Their date! He had forgotten to ask about it due to the episode in the library with the descendant.

"Wait!" he called to Nina.

She turned around, "What is it?"

"Would you fancy going on a stroll with me?"

Eddie groaned inwardly, Fabian had _not _listened to his advice. He would have to give him some tips tomorrow about dealing with the female gender.

But to Eddie's surprise Nina's face lit up, "Of course! Let me go get my coat!"

She tiptoed out of the boy's room and nearly raced to her own.

"A walk? In England? In December?" Eddie shook his head, "We talked about this, it's a bad idea!"

"Hey, you try coming up with something that romantic," Fabian snatched his jacket and dashed out the door.

As the two got ready for their midnight stroll, they did not notice the small light on in Victor's office. But for once, he did nothing to stop them. He merely sat quietly and watched.

"Do you think Victor will catch us?" Nina whispered, barely able to conceal her excitement.

"Nah, I think he's given up on lurking in the shadows ready to catch kids sneaking around at night."

"You're probably right; he's been pretty mellow ever since we found the mask. Hopefully he doesn't interfere with this whole descendant stuff."

"Which is good for you and me," Fabian smiled, offering his arm.

Nina grinned and took it. Then the two set off for the snowy night.

* * *

Victor put his face in his hands, "I have no energy to deal with those brats anymore," he told Corbiere.

Like always, Corbiere said nothing. Not that Victor had ever expected him to; he just needed someone to listen to him and never talk back. But it was true, he no longer felt the need to chase after the children. Ever since the exhausting ordeal with the mask, he had been very weary. His old life of scolding the kids and searching seemed repetitive. Not that he had the ingredients for eternal life he didn't know what to do with them. He had added the tear of gold to his elixir but had not drunk it yet. Did he really want eternal life? What would he even do with it? He was an old man with aching muscles that would not be of any use to him. He had searched for the recipe to eternal life for so long that he had forgotten to ask himself if he even wanted it anymore. With Vera gone, he had no one to share it with. She had broken his heart and he was still bitter from it. His life seemed very empty right now. The only things he had left were Corbiere, the elixir, and his job. His job, oh how he had resented his job. He had resented the children, what brats they were. His childhood had been a horrible memory, and he hated the constant reminders of that. But lately, things had changed. He had almost in a peculiar way grown fond of the children, Anubis house, and even Trudy. So now what was he to do with the elixir? Would he use it or throw away his life's work?

The sound of knocking on Victor's door interrupted his thoughts, who could that be at this hour? Trudy? One of the students?

"Come in."

In walked a man that Victor knew very well, but he looked very different. His hair was matted and tangled, his face dripped with sweat, his eyes were bloodshot and crazed, and his body was gaunt and almost unrecognizable.

It was Jason Winkler.

* * *

It was chilly outside, but both Fabian and Nina had their coats on. It was snowing, but only small flurries lightly fell down, scarcely sticking to anything. They had walked for a while in silence, admiring the muted gray and white beauty of the lovely winter night. After a while they stopped to sit down on a bench.

Fabian watched endearingly as Nina blinked away the snowflakes from her eyelashes, "Are you cold?"

"No, you're pretty warm," Nina leaned into Fabian and despite the cold, felt very warm as he put his arm around her.

She looked up at the bright full moon, "The moon looks beautiful tonight," she mused absentmindedly.

"So do you."

Nina smiled at him and snuggled against him.

"I know you're worried about what happened earlier."

Sighing, Nina let out all the thoughts and feelings she had been bottling up, "We don't know who the descendant is, what that person is a descendant of, how to protect them, or what we're even up against!"

Fabian squeezed Nina's hand reassuringly and his expression was understanding.

"I'm so tired of this house and all of its _stupid _mysteries. For once, just once, I want to have a normal term! Why can't I enjoy myself? All year I've been scrambling to protect my friends and family and now I have to worry about some person _I don't even know! _I have to be so careful because-"

_My friend's live are in danger. You are in danger._

But Nina couldn't say that. She just _couldn't. _Only Eddie knew how much trouble they were actually in. But he had already accepted the consequences of who he had become.

"Because…the descendant is in danger," Nina finished.

She was about to go on, but Fabian silenced her with a kiss. After she looked at him, he was staring at her with those kind blue eyes, smiling at her in the way she could not resist. She hugged Fabian, thankful to have him.

"Nina you know we're going to figure this out. We'll find out who this descendant is and how to protect them. I'll be here for you every step of the way, figuring out the mystery and eventually solving it," as Fabian let go of her he brushed a stray piece of hair from her eyes, "Just take a deep breath and know I'm here for you."

She tried to express how grateful she was for his words, but found herself dumbstruck. Instead she leaned onto his shoulder and closed her eyes. The two sat in silence, because there was no need for words.

Eventually, it became very late and the two slowly got up from the bench. The moonlight lit their path as they walked back to Anubis house. Slowly opening the door, Fabian gave Nina one last kiss and she began to walk back into her room.

"Wait," he called after her, "You're freezing."

"That's why I'm climbing into my warm bed," Nina shivered, rubbing her arms.

"Why don't I make you a cup of tea?" Fabian offered.

"Well," Nina stared into the dark hallway and then back to Fabian, "I could never resist British hospitality."

The two snuck back into the kitchen and as Fabian boiled water in the tea pot he asked Nina, "You know we're going to figure this out, right?"

"I know," she sighed, "I can't help but worry though."

"Then don't," advised Fabian as he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, "There's got to be some book in the library that will help us figure out the riddle."

"Probably," Nina muttered distractedly.

He came in with two cups of tea and handed the cup to Nina. Dropping sugar cubes into her drink, she stirred it around.

"You rather fancy your tea extra sweet, don't you?" Fabian remarked.

"Not so bitter that way," Nina laughed and popped a sugar cube in her mouth, "But you have to admit I'm getting better at being British."

"Just need to lose the accent and pick up more British slang."

"It's funny," Nina thought aloud, taking a sip of the tea, "England's more my home than America ever was."

"Once you go British you never go back."

"It's true though," laughed Nina, "During the summer when I'm in America it's so weird how nobody offers me tea or calls the toilet _the loo_."

Fabian chuckled into his drink, "Don't become too British though," he warned.

Nina arched her eyebrow at him, "Why?" she questioned.

"Because I love that you're so different. Your accent, your words, the way you are still seems exotic to me."

"Exotic?" Nina snorted, "It's not like I'm from Italy or anything like that."

"There's just something different about you. The adventurous girl from America's who's perhaps a little bit mad."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

Fabian nodded and grinned at her, "You never fail to surprise me."

"That's me, the American, full of surprises."

"I'm serious," Fabian chuckled, "When you first came nobody knew what to do with you because you were this wild spirit and here we're all boring."

"Ah," Nina clicked her tongue, "But back home I'm about as interesting as a rock."

"I doubt that," Fabian shook his head.

"Believe me, before Sarah gave me that locket I had never been anything special. Even at home I'm not the Chosen One or anything; I'm just the girl who goes to England every year."

"Well here you'll always be something special," he added, as an afterthought, "Special to me."

"There's no boys like you in America, that's for sure."

"So tell me of these American boys. What are they like?"

"Rude, arrogant, and conceited."

"Basically Eddie?"

Nina giggled and even snorted a bit, making Fabian join in with the laughter.

Fabian leaned in closer to Nina, his eyes gleaming, "So what's so great about those boys in England?"

"Well," Nina leaned into Fabian, their lips nearly touching, "They're awkward, clumsy, clever, kind, brave, and _fantastic_ kissers."

Fabian leaned in all of the way and they were kissing. This kiss was different, it lasted longer. The fell into each other and he marveled at how well he knew Nina in this way. When they kissed, his hands were familiar with her body. She would wrap her arms around his neck, and that was how they always kissed. But this time he felt more wild, wanting more from her. She tasted the want in him and they were kissing more furiously than ever before. Kissing Nina was so natural now, like breathing air.

Finally they broke away and they leaned against each other, just breathing.

"Well you know what they say, those American girls are _brilliant _kissers," he whispered into her ear.

Nina smiled and leaned back in her chair, "It's getting pretty late."

"Very true," Fabian agreed, "We've got lots of research to do tomorrow."

Both getting up, Fabian gave her a quick peck on the lips.

The two shared one last smile before they went their separate ways.

"Sweet dreams," Fabian called out to her.

"They'll be sweeter because of you."

* * *

Nina opened the door to her and Amber's room and quietly slid off her coat, as to not wake Amber, who was curled up with her new kitten, Mr. Black Toes.

As she climbed under the covers she heard Amber whisper something.

"Was your walk with Fabian romantic?

"Yes, it was," Nina whispered back dreamily.

"What was it like?"

"Perfect," Nina repeated, "It was perfect."

She fell asleep smiling.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Fabian and Eddie's room, Eddie also asked Fabian how the date went and Fabian described it to him.

"Oh gosh enough with the cheesy stuff; you're killing me!"

"The word cheesy is not synonymous with the word bad," snapped Fabian.

"Whatever man, goodnight," Eddie turned off the lamp, cursing himself for letting Fabian go through with that _awful _date.

As soon as Fabian's head hit the pillow he fell asleep and dreamt of Nina.

* * *

Victor cleared his throat and struggled to hide his shock.

"Jason? Jason Winkler, is that really you?"

"Good to see you too Victor," Jason replied, closing the door behind him and sitting down at the seat across from Victor.

"I daresay, you look awful," Victor muttered blatantly.

Jason wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, "The feeling is mutual; you look so much older than I remembered."

"Unfortunately life goes on, despite my best efforts to slow it down. Now what are you doing here Jason?"

The man across from him shifted and then leaned in closer to Victor, "What of the elixir? Or the Cup of Ankh? Is all hope lost?"

"Why do you ask that?" Victor inquired suspiciously.

"I am a dead man Victor. Or at least soon I will. Do you not remember my disease? Well it is progressing," Jason continued, "I have a life worth living now and I will not give it up."

"Jason surely you can't be asking me-"

"Of course I am!" Jason shouted, pounding his fist on the table, "I _will not _give up my life and you are one of the last people I know that can fix that."

Victor cleared his throat, startled by Jason's sudden violence, "Then I am the wrong person because I have give up all efforts of seeking eternal life."

"Do not lie to me Victor," Jason laughed bitterly, "I am not who I was and I will do anything, no matter _who_ gets in my way."

Victor looked up at Jason and felt terrified; he unconsciously rubbed the ring on his finger, given to him by his father which contained the tear of gold, the last ingredient to make the elixir.

"Jason that is a dream that I cannot afford to chase anymore," Victor attempted to say calmly, but his voice trembled with fear.

"I hope you are not lying to me," Jason stroked Corbiere and looked directly into Victor's eyes, "I will be watching you closely old man."

Gulping, Victor opened his mouth but closed it again, utterly speechless.

"Just know this," Jason stood up, "I can kill you slowly and in ways that you can't even imagine. What about that lady friend of yours. Vera was her name?"

Vera's name struck a bitter chord in his heart and he bowed his head slightly, still in mourning after her.

"I can find her and use her to get to you," Jason laughed mercilessly and turned around to leave the damaged man alone.

But he spun back around and pointed a harsh finger at Victor, "Do not think, even for a second, that I am incapable of getting information from you. I have full control of you and I will find you and get you if you are lying to me."

Now Victor was sweating and trembling, "I s-swear I am not lying to you."

"I do hope so. Your friends were not so lucky, Victor. They tried to run but in the end I found them and now they are just empty and cold, no secrets left to tell," Mr. Winkler darted from the office, leaving Victor shakily breathing and stunned beyond all belief.

Jason was once a young man, full of life and hope. What had Victor turned him into? A ruthless killer who preyed on the innocent?

Victor let out a shaky breath and stood up, trying to block out of his mind what had just happened.

He peered out the window and gazed upon the falling snow. Christmas time was always a painful one for Victor, for his father had never celebrated it and diminished all hopes for it. He had celebrated it with Rufus and Sarah, when they were younger, and those times were some of the happiest Christmases he had ever had. But now his friends were long gone, just whispers in the wind, so those memories still brought pain. Though he would, at times, fondly remember his younger days, living with Sarah and Rufus in this house. They were more innocent back then, and life was happier. Perhaps he did have some good memories in this house, but now the only one who remembered them was Victor. Sometimes he would stand under a certain patch of light or brush past settling dust and feel haunted by what once was, but those times lay in old photographs and journal entries, long forgotten by the rest of the world. Perhaps it was time for Victor to join his old friends. His life had been full of regrets and sorrows but maybe ending it would ease those pains. But how could he kill himself, when he had, for so long, searched so desparately to preserve his life?

He cast those thoughts aside and went back to staring longingly at the snowfall, lost in old memories of better times, stroking Corbiere to compose himself, as he always had.

* * *

When all of the Sibunas were fast asleep Jason was making his way out of Anubis School when he stumbled upon a spare piece of paper, lying on the ground.

He picked it up carefully and examined the paper. The more he read, the more Jason Winkler grinned maniacally.

Maybe it was his lucky day after all. He was going to fight death, and win. He snapped a photo of it with his camera and fled into the night. Cold, wet snowflakes stuck to his hair, and though he did not have a coat, the fresh brewing of ideas in his mind distracted him.

Later that night Patricia tiptoed back into the hallway, holding her breath in fear that Victor or somebody else had seen the previous riddle she had dropped.

Luckily it was just lying on the floor, untouched. She let out a sigh of relief and swiped it up, rushing back into her room, extremely glad that no one had noticed her unlucky blunder.

Little did she know, her small mistake would lead to so much destruction.

Nina and Eddie slept soundly in their beds hoping that Sarah's warning was just their wild imagination. That maybe the Paragon and the Osirian could fix that everything with their newly found connection.

But they were wrong.

The worst that was to come was much deadlier.

Jason Winkler was a man with a plan. A man who sought eternal life and didn't care how much blood got on his hands.

Jason Winkler was going to change history with the secrets he would reveal, the secrets that have been kept for generations.

And no one would be safe from him.

* * *

**And there it is! I've had the dream that Nina and Eddie shared written for a while now and was very excited to use it in this fic! Sorry this is one is a lot shorter compared to the others. Okay so one of my readers pointed out that I was _demanding _reviews. I'm not demanding, I'm just asking (though in capital letters). It's just a suggestion, I plan to make this fic super long for you guys and since I'm putting so much work into it I want to know that people are actually reading it. So don't feel pressure into reviewing, only know that reviews encourage me to write more and they make me happy. I love every single review! So on that happy note, no wait let me give you an actually happy note...House of Anubis is returning January 3rd! Wohooo! Except I'm sort of bitter about no Nina but still it's House of Anubis so it's bound to be great. Anyway, 5 reviews until the next chapter! Please review! Thanks for all of your support so far and have a lovely day.**


	4. The Pharaohess

**December 15: The Pharaohess**

The next morning at breakfast Eddie was piling pancakes onto a plate and drenching them in syrup and whipped cream.

"You're disgusting," groaned Joy.

"He's a _genius_," Mick commented as he prepared to mimic the messy breakfast.

"It's official, I've lost my appetite," Amber said as she pushed her plate away from her.

"I'll eat it," Alfie dumped the contents of Amber's plates onto his own.

Trudy walked into the kitchen, "Good morning dearies! Sorry you're not all enjoying your holidays at home but we'll make do with what we have," she cleared her throat, "Also the police sent over some rules and curfews concerning the murders."

"Staying here is bad enough, now more rules?" Patricia commented crossly.

"Sorry loves but everybody has to follow these!" Trudy pulled out a slip of paper form her pocket, "The rules are as follows…"

_To all those who live in East Liverpool..._

_There is a killer in our area that has murdered 3 people within our city limits as of yesterday. The City Council has decided that all persons within a five mile radius must remain in their homes or schools until further notice. This new rule is for the safety of everyone and we're terribly sorry for all of your canceled holiday plans._

_Everybody must be in the houses and off the streets by 11 pm_

_Students and teachers in the area must remain on school grounds unless escorted by a police officer_

_If anybody notices any strange men they must report them immediately to the police_

_If anybody notices any suspicious activities they must report them immediately to the police_

_All persons in their homes or schools may only leave if escorted by a police officer_

_Anybody with information concerning the murderer must report it immediately to the police_

_Thank you for your cooperation, _

_East Liverpool City Police Department_

"But good news everybody! If escorted by a police officer when the reach the city limits your parents or guardians can pick you up and take you on your holidays!" Trudy declared happily, "But for those of you whose parents won't be picking you up Mr. Sweet, Victor, and I will be staying here. The students in other houses who have also chosen to stay will be watched over by their caretakers, housemothers, and a few teachers."

"Finally, good news," Jerome murmured.

"Also, one of the police officers that will be guarding our school is going to talk with us more about what's happening."

"Lovely," Alfie grumbled.

"I think his name's Sergeant Gray. Make sure you're all back in the living room by 1 in the afternoon!"

And with that, Trudy left the kids to their breakfast, the morning drearier than ever.

Fabian grabbed a piece of toast and began to butter it, "So will you be staying here Nina?"

"Yup. I called Gran last night and she's okay with it, to be honest I think she needs a little peace and quiet."

"So it has nothing to do with me?" Fabian pretended to pout.

"Not at all," Nina replied sarcastically, grinning, "Why in the world would I want to stay with my amazing and genius boyfriend over the holidays?"

"Understandable," Fabian leaned over and kissed Nina lightly.

"You taste like toast," Nina wrinkled her nose.

"Could be worse?"

"I'm staying here too," interjected Amber, "Mysteries first, presents later! What about you, beau?"

"Not much to do at home anyways," Alfie scooped eggs onto his plate, "If I stayed home I'd have to be all fancy because my posh relatives would be at our house. They don't appreciate pranks quite as much as I do…"

"You? Acting fancy? No way!" Amber scoffed, taking a sip from her orange juice.

"Ambs you underestimate me," Alfie chided and huffed up his chest, "I'm the poshest person ever."

"I doubt that," mocked Joy.

"Alfie if you're posh then I'm bad at football," Mick joked with a mouthful of muffin.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but, I agree with Mick," Jerome said to everyone's surprise, "There's no way you can act fancy."

"Is that a bet?" challenged Alfie, grinning.

"Ten quid says that you can't act posh for a day," Patricia folded her arms smugly.

"I'm so in on that," Eddie added.

Jerome chuckled, "Count my vote against Alfie and his supposed poshness."

Mara considered the bets for a moment, "I actually think Alfie can do it."

"Alfie can't even win a no laughing contest, how can he be fancy all day?"

"Everyone who thinks Alfie can't be posh for a day hand me your money," Jerome greedily extended his hands out.

Patricia raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Can we trust you with our money Clarke?"

"I'll make sure he doesn't spend it," Mara assured everyone.

Everyone handed Jerome their money and in the end Mick, Jerome, Eddie, Patricia, Amber, Nina, and Joy betted money against Alfie. Fabian and Mara had faith in him.

"You actually believe Alfie can be fancy for an entire day?" scoffed Nina.

"He wants to prove you all wrong enough, so I'm sure he can," Fabian pointed out wisely and Mara nodded in agreement.

"So tomorrow you'll attempt to act posh?" Joy asked.

"From the moment you wake up until you have to go to bed you have to be posh," added Jerome.

"Deal!" Alfie cried, shaking hands with Jerome.

After the business with the bets and such usual conversation resumed.

"So slimeball, I'm guessing you're staying here with old Sweetie?" Patricia asked Eddie.

"Rather than spend Christmas with my nagging mom? Of course I'm staying here. What about you Miss Yacks-a-lot?"

"Rather than spend Christmas with my family obsessing over Piper's wonderful talents? Of course I'm staying here."

"Aw don't worry Yacker," Eddie mockingly patted Patricia's back, "You have some pretty wonderful talents too. You can yack, annoy people, be rude…"

"Those aren't exactly considered talents, weasel."

"I wasn't finished yet!" Eddie added to his list, "You're a good kisser."

Patricia smirked, "Yeah? Well you're not so bad yourself.

"Care to test it out now?"

"Nice try, weasel" Patricia got up from the table, leaving Eddie unsatisfied that his plan had not worked.

"Not a man," coughed Fabian, glaring superiorly at Eddie.

"Pushover."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mara and Jerome had retreated into Jerome's room and were discussing their upcoming Christmas plans.

"This is the first Christmas that dad can stay with Poppy and I but…" Jerome trailed off as he sat down on his bed.

"But what?" Mara pressed, joining him on the bed.

"But I don't know if I want to," admitted Jerome guiltily, his head tipped down as he stared shamefully at the ground.

"Why not?"

"I've always hated Christmas. My mom always left Poppy and I alone, not even a present to unwrap."

"Oh Jerome," she said softly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Jerome smiled sadly back, "Though I loved being with Poppy, I've always had bad memories of Christmas."

"But Jerome, your dad isn't like your mom," Mara pointed out, "I bet you'll make even better memories with Poppy and your dad."

"You really think so?" Jerome asked, his blue eyes wide.

"Of course I do."

"Maybe I will then. What about you Jaffray, going home for Christmas?"

"Nah, my parents are usually busy on Christmas. Why be stuck at home just waiting for them?"

"I wish I didn't have to leave you here all alone, maybe you could spend-" Jerome began, with a small smile playing on his lips.

"No," Mara said with a note of definiteness, "This is going to be the best Clarke Christmas ever and that is not going to include me."

"Ah well," laughed Jerome, "It was worth a try."

"Now go call your dad and Poppy," urged Mara, "You're going to need a police officer to escort you all to your dad's new place."

"Mara Jaffray you are the best," Jerome beamed at Mara and hugged her.

"What would you do without me?"

"I'm not sure," confessed Jerome.

"Go on," Mara playfully shoved Jerome, "The Clarke Christmas needs to begin!"

As Jerome was leaving he asked Mara, "Now you won't go running off with Mick while I'm gone," he laughed uneasily.

"Don't worry about me," Mara chuckled, "You've permanently stolen my heart."

Grinning, Jerome gave her a quick kiss then left to call his family.

Mara smiled after her boyfriend and then hesitantly slid the phone out of her pocket.

The conversation was the usual. _Hi guys. Happy almost Christmas, pumpkin. How's everything going? Then some long bit about their upcoming races or events. Oh exciting. Sorry we'll be busy again sweetheart, will you be alright? Of course. You have friends there at least! Sure do. Got your text, holy cow! Kind of crazy, isn't it? How's school going? Fine. Sorry again about Christmas, pumpkin. Don't worry; we'll still have Christmas Day. That's right, love you pumpkin. Love you guys too. Tell the boys hi. We will, goodbye sweetie. Bye, be safe. You too!_

Despite their conversations, Mara thought she and her parents had a good relationship. But in a way, she knew that they would always be expecting Mara to blossom into a sports lover one day. Her younger twin brothers fulfilled her parent's expectations at least, they were avid football fans. But regardless of her lack of sportiness, Mara's parents were still proud of their daughter.

Mara slid the phone back into her pocket and as she was leaving Jerome's room she stumbled into Mick, quite literally in fact.

"Oi watch it you-" Mick cleared his throat, "Oh hi Mara."

"Hi Mick," Mara avoided his eyes and rushed past him, leaving behind a very frustrated Mick.

When she came back into the kitchen everybody was gone, which barely surprised her. Ever since Nina had arrived, her, Fabian, Patricia, Alfie, and Amber were always together and whispering in hushed tones. Mara had tried to ask them what in the world they were doing but they all usually responded with different answers or terrible lies. In fact, she had grown quite used to their odd disappearances in the middle of the day or even in the dead of night. But this time, Joy and Eddie were also gone. Perhaps the five, no wait seven now (possibly?), had some sort of secret club. But what would they be doing? But Mara had given up trying to figure that out a long time ago.

She sighed, feeling particularly lonely from the phone call with her parents and the idea that Jerome was going to be gone all holiday break. So she made hot cocoa, hoping it would cheer her up, at least a tad bit.

She leaned against the counter, just holding the cup to absorb the warmth from it. Her mind wandered off and did not notice Mick come into the kitchen.

He was wearing a faded red shirt that had the obscured name of some team on it and blue basketball shorts. As usual, his hair was ruffled in the way that panged Mara's heart, in a way she had long forgotten.

"Mara, we really need to talk."

She bit her lip and finally looked into his eyes for the first time in a long time and felt utterly ashamed.

"What is it you want to talk about?" she asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

Mick motioned for her to sit down and after she did he sat beside her.

"I want to talk about our relationship," Mick said hesitantly and Mara nearly choked on her hot cocoa.

"You what?" she sputtered.

"Since you kissed Clarke," Mick continued, "I supposed that we had broken up."

Mara nodded and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "Joy said that you saw that."

He nodded and posed the question she had dreaded him saying, "Have you always liked him?"

She shook her head and confessed, "For a while Jerome was always _just_ my friend but when you were in Australia I guess we just grew closer."

"But we were still dating-"

"A long distance relationship, mind you," Mara reminded him, "Not the best kind of relationship."

"That's not my fault," grumbled Mick, "I thought you wanted me to go to Australia."

"I didn't know what I wanted," admitted Mara softly.

Mick sighed, "We were never really good at just talking, were we?"

"No, we weren't," agreed Mara, "I'm sorry I broke up with you like that."

"It's just that," Mick said, "I came back for you. Joy invited me to come but you were the _main _reason I decided to visit Anubis house."

"Oh," breathed Mara.

"It's okay," Mick's eyes locked with hers, "I forgive you."

Mara opened her mouth slightly, but closed it.

"What happened to us? We could have been so much more, but I lost you Mara," those blue eyes she had once loved were filled with sadness, "I lost you."

"We always brought out the worst in each other," Mara reminded him, "It's always been that way and you know that."

"I know. I just…wish we could have done better," Mick said earnestly, "Because if I had known that it was going to end up like this, _I would have tried harder_."

Mara didn't know how to respond to that so she just looked down at the table, attempting to absorb the other one's words.

"Mick," Mara grabbed Mick's hand and he looked up at her, "I just think that we weren't meant for each other."

He said nothing so she just continued, "We were like puzzle pieces, desperate to fit together but we just messed up the whole puzzle. After all this time, we've just dented our edges by forcing ourselves to stick together.

"So Jerome is the puzzle piece that completes you?" Mick asked softly.

"Yes. I never really knew until he was gone and I had missed him so much."

Mick bowed his head, looking mournfully down at the table. Mara rubbed his shoulder soothingly, unsure of what to say.

"So you don't have feelings for me anymore," Mick said, it was not a question, it was a statement.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

"Thank you for telling me," Mick stood up and started to leave.

But before he left Mara shouted, "Mick!"

He spun around and stared at her with expectant eyes, "Yes?"

"I was so happy to be your girlfriend. Don't you _dare _forget that."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us," Mick quoted solemnly.

"Charles Dickens?" Mara said incredulously, "You can quote Charles Dickens?"

"I'd do anything to impress you."

"Well you impressed me," Mara smiled and gave him one last kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for everything."

Mick smiled back at her and that was how they ended, surely and truly, final and definite. He left the kitchen, feeling lighter, like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. It was the beginning of a new Mick, and that was the first step in a long line of changes. He did not look back at her.

* * *

Mara breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the counter, feeling almost dizzy from their conversation. As she pondered her thoughts, Mara had never, in a million years, imagined that this would be the way that they broke up. It was so quiet; the ending of their relationship had gone by completely unnoticed by the rest of the world.

_This is the way the world ends, not with a bang a whimper_, she thought.

But she was glad that she had gotten that over with. No more evading Mick's eyes or leaving the room when he was there. Now she was free to kiss or hug Jerome as she pleased, without feeling guilty when Mara knew Mick could see.

As if on cue, Jerome bolted into the kitchen, cheeks red and flushed from being outside in the cold. His blue eyes were light up with an almost feverish happiness. She watched him run his hand through his dripping hair, a habit that she found quite endearing. Mara had always found Jerome, a beautiful sort of handsome with his twinkling bright eyes, impossibly long lashes, mess of hair, and gangly sort of tallness. Sometimes when he talked she would count his lashes or count how many times he would run his fingers through his hair, just because he absolutely intrigued her. When she had first met him, Mara had written Jerome off as just another greedy prankster. But there was so much more to him, a story hidden beneath so many layers that he was beginning to unveil to her.

"Mara, I've got great news!" he exclaimed gleefully, breaking her train of thought.

"Go on," Mara insisted, taking a gulp from her hot cocoa.

"My dad's going to arrange for a police car to pick Poppy and I up tomorrow!"

"That's great! But what about the bet?"

"I assume that you can manage that," laughed Jerome, "Make sure I get my fare share, will you Jaffray?"

"Of course," she chuckled then remembered, "I've got some good news of my own. I officially broke up with Mick."

"You didn't before?" Jerome raised an eyebrow.

"Given the fact that he witnessed our kiss at the party last term," Mara bit her lip, "Breaking up was inevitable."

"So that meathead is over you now?"

"I think so," Mara said, "Now what about you? First proper Clarke Christmas, hooray!"

"Indeed, couldn't have done it without you," he beamed.

"That's what I'm here for."

Jerome peered curiously at her, "You seem a bit sad."

"I'm fine really," Mara brushed his comment off, "Promise."

"I don't believe you," Jerome poked her side playfully.

"Don't worry about me," she smiled, shoving him a bit.

"Ah, but I always do," her smiled affectionately at her, "But cheer up. We've got the whole rest of the day to ourselves."

"Lovely. What shall we do first, considering we can't leave the house?"

"Have you forgotten that I have a degree in thinking of fantastic dates when you are forced to stay at your boarding school?"

"Must have slipped my mind," she giggled.

"Come along, Jaffray," he offered his hand.

"No fair using Doctor Who!" she cried, taking his hand.

"It's my secret weapon to get you to do anything."

"I'm afraid you've got me completely figured out," she mockingly shook her head in despair.

"Have you figured _me_ out?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"Not yet. Nor will I ever probably."

"Good," he grinned and tugged at her arm, "Let's have an adventure."

Grinning, she used his arm to pull herself up, "Where do we start?"

"Outside. Get your coat, Pond!"

"Jerome!"

"I know, I just had to. But really, get your coat please."

* * *

Nina glumly shoved her phone back into her phone, "Well Jerome bailed on us."

All of the Sibunas had left for the library as soon as breakfast was over, ready to dissect the riddle.

"I knew it, that creep!" scoffed Patricia, crossing her arms.

"Actually, he's spending Christmas with his Dad and Poppy. So for now he's doing stuff with Mara before he leaves," she explained further.

"I guess that's pretty fair," Fabian admitted.

"Now we've got seven Sibunas! That's a pretty lucky number, right?"

"It'll be luckier if we can ever figure out this riddle," Eddie groaned, sticking his feet up on the table.

Amber, who had been busily scribbling on stray pieces of paper cleared her throat, "I've got a plan!" she started by handing everyone a paper, "Let's split up the work, each person has to research their specific part!"

"But wait," Fabian began hesitantly, "The later parts of the riddle are completely dependent on figuring out the very first parts…" he bit his lip.

"I was getting there," Amber retorted impatiently, "That's why I numbered them, so whoever has number one has to research first, while the others grab books for them and such until their turns come."

"Nicely done, Blondie!" Eddie commented, slightly shocked.

"Everyone split up into pairs-" she began to announce but stopped when she spotted Joy, "Um never mind."

"Joy can work with Fabian and I," Nina said quickly, "Three heads are better than one as they say!"

Joy smiled thankfully at her, surprised by Nina's act of kindness.

"Then you three heads get the largest and trickiest part of the riddle. SLAP?"

Alfie turned to his girlfriend with a puzzled expression, "What in the world are you talking about, Ambs?"

"SLAP?" Amber asked, "Sounds Like A Plan, Duh!"

Nina laughed, "Everybody grab some books, we're in for a long day."

So the Sibunas got to work, stacking heavy piles of books together, prepared to find answers no matter how much time it took.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jerome and Mara now bundled up and headed to the grounds for a bit of wintery fun.

Mara rubbed her shoulders, shivering, "So what's the plan?"

"We build," he smiled, revealing to Mara the items he was hiding behind his back, "a snowman!"

In his mitten covered hands were a pile of black buttons and a long carrot.

"Perfect!" Mara cried, "I haven't made a snowman in such a long time!"

"Well you are in luck," Jerome started gathering snow, "Because I am the best snowman maker this world has ever seen.

"We'll see about that," Mara laughed.

After a while, the two had constructed a beautiful snowman and were currently adding the finishing touches.

She held out the carrot to Jerome, inspecting it and frowning, "This looks a little long to me."

So he inched closer to her and bit off the end, "Better?"

Mara jerked it away from him, "Not what I meant!" she giggled, sticking the carrot in the middle of the head, "But it works."

"Having fun yet, Jaffray?" he asked, shaping the torso a bit more.

"Most definitely," she grinned, "Jerome what are you doing?!"

"What, it's a girl, right?"

He had made two large lumps on the upper chest, making it look more like a snow _woman._

"Jerome!" Mara yelled incredulously, slapping his arm, "That's so _inappropriate_!"

Throwing his head back and laughing, he wiped off the bumps, "Just wondering if you would notice."

"That's disgusting," she laughing, shaking her head and sticking twigs in for arms, "I had thought more of you."

"Well I'm glad you thought of me so highly at least," he said, placing the buttons in their correct places When he was finished he asked for her opinion.

"Why is he sad?" she inquired, pointing to its frowning face.

Jerome thought for a moment before answering, "His existence is short and miserable. Nobody to love him and in a matter of mere days he will be gone. Melted away, nothing left behind to show that he mattered."

"Very deep, Professor Jerome," Mara grinned, "I was just going to say that Victor was yelling at him."

"You're a genius!" Jerome cried, hugging her, "Let's make a Victor snowman yelling at him!"

"I love it, let's do it!"

The two eagerly and quickly created another taller, bigger snowman next to the other.

"How do we make it look more like Victor?" Mara set her fingers on her chin in a thoughtful manner, staring at the snowman with scrutiny.

"I know!" Jerome clapped his hands and with his fingers made facial hair on its face.

"I've got an idea," Mara made two eyebrow lines above the eyes, making it look like he was rather angry.

"The intricate and delicate art that is snowman making," Jerome commented, laughing while he put two v shaped twigs on the sides, making it look as if his arms were on his hips.

"Hmmmm," Mara still continued to scowl at the snowman, "Something's still missing."

Jerome smiled adoringly at her, "Your nose crunches up when you're thinking."

"It does?"

"It's cute."

Smiling, Mara scolded him, "Ignore my cuteness and help me figure this out!"

"I know what the problem is," Jerome said, eyes looking very mischievous, "We need Corbiere."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mara began but stopped herself, "Oh no you don't!"

Continuing to grin, Jerome motioned towards Victor's office.

"I won't do it!" Mara shook her head defiantly, "Don't even think about it!"

"I beg of you Jaffray," Jerome pleaded, "It would mean the world to me."

"You need to get your priorities straight if the idea of me stealing makes you happy!" she folded her arms, refusing to look at him.

"C'mon," he grinned at her, "Do it for me."

"That's a crime Jerome!"

"If you do it, I'll kiss you," he batted his eyelashes at her, tilting his head and smiling.

"Actually," Mara pointed out, "You were going to kiss me either way."

"Not the point! Dooooo it," he drawled.

"It's not nice!"

"Oh geez," Jerome scoffed, "Think of how _awful _Victor has been over the years. Doesn't he deserve it?"

Mara considered this. Victor _was _a pretty terrible care taker. She had seen him smile perhaps 3, maybe 4 times in her entire time at Anubis house. Once at Corbiere when the kids where leaving for summer break, once during an exhausting week of finals when everybody was in bed at eight o'clock, once when Vera had called him handsome at the masked ball, and possibly (she wasn't sure if her eyes had been working properly) another time she saw him in his office when looking at a ring that seemed to be new. Other than that he had been a grouchy old man with no love for the children. How many times had she rolled her eyes at his pin dropping speech? How many times had he scolded her for something that Alfie or Jerome did? How many times did he ask where her other house members where, causing her to shrug and he yelled at her for not being observant? How many times had he shrugged off their concerns? She remembered when he had trashed their rooms, looking for the mice, and had damaged some of her belongings. Maybe Victor did deserve this…

"You've got that look on your face…"

"I'll do it," Mara decided.

"You're the best!" Jerome hugged her.

She jokingly pushed him away, "Stop before I change my mind!"

"Alright, but go on! Commit the evil deed I have glorified you with," he rubbed his hands together and grinned.

Mara bit her lip, "Maybe I shouldn't…"

But Jerome shook his head and pushed her towards the house, "Don't be indecisive and just go steal Corbiere!"

"Fine!" she laughed, "If I get caught I swear you'll pay for it."

"I've changed you," he tsked, "Now you're a monster."

Mara laughed, "Don't you start! Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" he called after her as she ran back into the house.

At one point, he had strictly labeled Mara as a goody two shoes. But she was always surprising him these days. Sometimes she managed to amaze him and at the same time make him completely adore her.

* * *

"Time seems to drag on when you are researching what in the world a riddle from a crazy dead guy means, as they say."

Nina looked up from the book she was reading to Fabian, somewhat bewildered.

"Nobody says that."

"It's true though," he slumped across the table and buried his face in the book.

"I'm hungry," Alfie complained.

"You're not the one trying to figure out the riddle!" Joy cried.

"Not your best plan Amber," Nina slammed the book shut, casting it aside so she would not throw it across the room.

"Read it aloud one more time," prompted Patricia who was leaning against Eddie, feeling quite bored.

"_Reincarnation of she who makes magic_

_Her suicide by venom was tragic_

_But I must confess_

_The death of the pharaohess_

_Was not an accident after all_

_Listen to the true story of her final fall_

_Paper leaves and the king's toxic bite," _read Joy once again.

"Line by line guys," said Amber, "That's how we're going to do it."

"Did you guys ever actually get anything done before this?" asked Eddie.

"We reassembled a cup that grants eternal life and navigated a series of deathly obstacles courses," Patricia pointed out, "Maybe you're just the reason we aren't getting anything done."

"Calm down Yacker," Eddie said in a snarky tone, "No need to defend yourself."

"Quit it guys," Nina snapped impatiently, "Can you two quit the act for just a second? We all know you're dying to make out or something but this is a little more important."

This shut Eddie and Patricia up, who both blushed and refused to look at each other.

"_Reincarnation of she who makes magic_," Fabian said, "Okay this may not make sense but this is referencing the descendant, who we have to save. The reincarnation of she who makes magic is the person the descendant descended from. And this person is a reincarnation of somebody else. Are you all keeping up?" his reply was a bunch of opened mouths and blank stares.

"Let me make it simpler," he shook his head, "There is a person who is a reincarnation. Her descendant is the person who we have to save. Got it?" They nodded to Fabian's great relief.

"We should start with the basis of Egyptology," added Patricia, "Robert Frobisher Smythe is crazy about that stuff."

Amber took this as her cue and raced to a shelf, grabbing a book entitled, "Ancient Egypt; The Basic History."

She dumped the enormous book on the table and it landed with a thump, waking Joy up.

"This has got to be the most boring book in the history of forever," Joy commented as she flipped through the pages.

"_One of the most prominent parts of Ancient Egyptian History is the worshipping of Gods, and Goddesses," _Joy read, "_Pharos and Kings of Egypt always were strongly linked and believe in such things."_

"I think our answer is somewhere in here," Alfie explained further, "I mean everything we've ever done in Sibuna either links to a God like Anubis or a ruler, like Tutankhamen."

Nina snapped her fingers, "You're right!" she scrammed to where Joy was and snatched the book from her, "Let's see…here's a good chapter! _Gods and Goddesses in Different Eras."_

"Keep reading!" Fabian cried, "The word reincarnation would work with all that you're saying! Ancient rulers of Egypt usually thought they were descended from Gods or Goddesses!"

Unfortunately, this book neither gave them answers nor pointed them in the right direction.

"Maybe we should call it quits for today," Amber slumped in her chair, "We haven't found anything helpful about this mysterious pharaohess…"

"That's it!" Fabian pointed a finger at Amber, "You're a genius!-I am?-Yes you are! The answer was waiting for us along in the riddle and we didn't even notice!" he slapped his forehead.

"What is it?" Nina asked excitedly.

Instead of answering he raced to a shelf and got another book. Then he pushed aside the other book and replaced it with the one he had found.

"_Female Pharaohs of Egypt_?" Eddie asked curiously.

"Don't you get it? There were hardly any memorable Pharaohess except a few. So our list will be short and easy to find our person in!"

Nina screamed with joy, "I could kiss you!" She then promptly grabbed his face and planted a quick kiss on his laps.

Blushing profusely, Fabian scanned through the book for the list of female pharaohs, "Found it!"

"_Meryt Neith, Nitocris, Sobeknofru, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti_…" Fabian began to read.

"Nefertiti!" Nina exclaimed, "She was on that Doctor Who DVD Mara and Jerome gave me, we watched that one last night Fabian!"

"I really liked that episode," gushed Fabian.

"Will you two _stop_ nerding out and _start_ figuring out the riddle?!" scolded Eddie, hoping to get Nina back for her earlier comment.

"Oh hush up," Fabian started to say but his jaw dropped, "I found it."

All of the Sibunas gathered around him, eager to hear the answer.

Fabian pointed to a passage in the book.

"_One of the more famous pharaohess in Ancient Egypt was Cleopatra. She was loved among many and believed herself to be a reincarnation of the Egyptian Goddess, Isis."_ He read slowly.

"Isis is the Goddesses of Magic!" Nina shrieked.

"Reincarnation of she who makes magic," Amber shouted, "We found her!"

"Fabian you're spectacular! Somebody grab a book about Cleopatra!" Nina commanded.

"Got it!" Alfie nearly leapt out of his seat and after a minute or so came back with a dusty old book labeled, _Cleopatra VII; The Life and Lies of the Last True Pharaohess of Egypt._

"Look through the chapter headings," prompted Fabian, "And…here it is! _The Suicide of Cleopatra_."

Fabian's eyes scanned over the document and eventually he explained, "It says here that though there were many rumors about her death, in the end it was decided that she committed suicide by allowing a poisonous snake to bite her, thus eventually killing her."

Eddie looked at the pictures of the riddle on Patricia's phone again, "This says that it wasn't suicide! _Paper leaves and the king's toxic bite_...maybe she was poisoned?"

"But what was she poisoned with?" Joy asked, "If Cleopatra was the pharaohess then there wouldn't be any kings ruling with her right?"

"Plus I don't think any kings should be biting her anywhere," added Amber, shuddering at the thought.

"Bites!" cried Eddie, "Bites as in snake bites and king as in _king cobra_."

"Thank you Osirian!" Nina threw her hands up in the air, "You actually figured something out!"

"I try," Eddie bowed, "I really do try."

"So he killed her with the snake and paper leaves?" Patricia hit her head, "I remember learning something about paper leaves last year in history class…"

Alfie suddenly had a huge grin, "Papyrus! I remember Mr. Winkler made us write our name in hieroglyphics on those weird leaf things!"

"Terrific, Alfie!" Fabian high fived him, "Papyrus, commonly used in Ancient Egypt for scrolls, came from Papyrus leaves!"

"So this guy actually killed Cleopatra with a poison made out of king cobra venom and papyrus leaves?" Joy questioned.

"Apparently so!" Nina shrugged and grinned, "But despite how crazy this sounds, I just know it's right!"

"Me too," Eddie agreed, "Like the answers we're finding have been waiting for us."

Nina nodded, feeling right on step with Eddie, "What's next? The red of the ruler, that's easy. It means her blood."

Joy groaned in disgust, "So after poisoning her he drank her blood?"

"Vampires are so not even in style anymore," Amber shook her head disapprovingly

"Then this "mental one" was rewarded with eternal life," Alfie concluded, "_Great._ Everybody just needs to chill and realize that eternal life is not the answer to everything."

"Unfortunately not everybody's attitude toward living forever is the same as yours Alfie," Nina sighed, "But it's up to us to stop the mental one from hurting the descendant."

"_Her life in the hands of those with a connection_," Eddie read, looking directly at Nina, "I guess that means us."

"_The connection will become undone_

_If they cannot find a way_

_To protect those they cannot save,_" Nina shivered, "That's daunting."

"Better get to work then," Patricia clapped her hands, "Okay so let's recap. Cleopatra, a pharaohess of Egypt, had supposedly killed herself via snake bite. But what actually happened was that a crazy man gave her a poison made from snake venom and papyrus leaves and after drinking her blood he lived forever. This is going to happen again to a descendant of Cleopatra sometime in the near future. We don't know who the descendant is or who the mental one is. But either way we need to protect her or else Nina and Eddie are in trouble."

"Basically," Alfie shrugged, "We need to protect the descendant."

"And it's definitely not going to be easy," Amber frowned, "Robert Frobisher Smythe loves to make _everything _way complicated that it needs to be."

"Well now that we've figured out what we're supposed to be doing," Eddie crackled his knuckles, "Let's see how what the next clue is…"

"No can do!" Joy shook her head, "It's nearly one o'clock. We've got to go back to the house to listen to that police officer talk."

"You're right!" Nina exclaimed, looking at the time on her phone, "Well we've had a pretty productive day so far, nice work everyone! Until next time…_Sibuna_!"

"_Sibuna_!" everyone recited back and they all dashed back to the house amidst the continually falling snow. Their spirits were high and who could blame them? They had gotten a lot done today. But there was so much more to be done.

* * *

**There we go! Sorry for updating so late, it's been a long day. But despite that hope you liked the chapter! On a more somber note, my heart goes out to all the families that suffered from the elementary school shooting in Connecticut today. My thoughts and prayers are will all affected by that.**

**But yeah, thanks for all the reviews guys. Let's get 7 more reviews until the next chapter! (7's a nice number! That's how many Sibunas are in the fic! That's Nina's birthday 7-7-95 on the 7th hour!) Have a santabulous day everyone! **


	5. Moments

**December 15: Moments**

Jerome was getting very anxious. It had been nearly 15 minutes and Mara was not back yet. Did Victor catch her? If so then he would try to take the blame or make up an excuse for her, it was only fair.

Finally he saw her and smiled in relief, she ran towards him and stopped, out of breath and cheeks flushed.

"What took you so long, Jaffray? Did you get caught?" he inquired excitedly.

"Almost," she grinned, panting.

"So what happened?"

Mara took a deep breath, "Alright, so I went into his office, right? But Corbiere wasn't there! Obviously I looked around for a bit but no luck! Then Victor came in so I hid behind the coats on his coat rack. I overheard him talking to Corbiere about how nice it was so be clean, so I assumed that he had brought him back in. My next step was to get him out of the office. Remembering the wise advice from you and Alfie, I created a distraction. When he wasn't looking I pressed some of the buttons on his safe, which created a loud noise. Alarmed, he checked his safe to see who was pressing the buttons and while he did that I grabbed the keys from his desk and threw them out the window! So that made him yell in surprise and check the window for the noise. That was my chance so I grabbed Corbiere and made a beeline for the door when he said, "Who's there?" Not knowing what else to do I just dropped to the floor. He was going to walk right where I was, almost stepping on me during this whole thing! Luckily Trudy yelled, asking about what had just happened and he left his office to tell her. In the process he didn't walk where I had been! Then, with Corbiere in hand, I fled from his window and now here I am!"

Jerome just stared intensely at her for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed, "Mara Jaffray you never fail to surprise me!"

She thrust the raven into his hands, "You get to work on the Victor snowman and I'll make some finishing touches on our previous one!"

"I cannot believe you actually did it," Jerome shook his head and placed Corbiere on the Victor snowman's shoulder.

"Have more faith in me next time," she chided, "I can be quite the rule breaker, you know."

"Oh yes," Jerome chuckled, "You're Mara Rule-Breaking Jaffray, known for her rebellious nature and mischievous ways."

"Exactly," she giggled then, "It's done!"

Jerome turned around.

"Is that supposed to be…?" he asked quizzically, inspecting the snowman carefully, "Me?"

"Indeed," she smiled proudly.

She had added a lump on top of the snowman's head.

"What is that?"

"It's your hair."

"Oh, I see now," Jerome smiled unconvincingly.

Mara eyed him suspiciously, "Is there something wrong with it?"

"Ye-no. No. Nooo. It's perfect."

"You were starting to say yes!" Mara accused, pointing a warning finger at him.

He held his hands up, "It's perfect! Except for…" he trailed off vaguely.

"Except for what?!"

"It just looks like…a blob."

"A blob?"

Jerome nodded, "It doesn't exactly capture my hair's true _magnificence_."

"You prat!" Mara exclaimed, "Well then how do we fix it?"

"Let me just," Jerome licked his lips then started sculpting his hair with his fingers, "There!"

"Now it looks worse," she giggled, "It barely even looks like you! You need to make it look more…pointy," she carved off the edges slightly.

"Better?"

"Better," he affirmed, "But we need to make it more _me_."

"I've got it!" exclaimed Mara and she grabbed Jerome's scarf, unraveling it from his neck and wrapped it around the snowman," Now it's you!"

"That's my favorite scarf!" he cried, attempting to steal it back but Mara grabbed his hands, "Please keep it there Jerome; it's perfect!"

"Oh alright," he sighed, but couldn't help but smile, "Anything for you."

"You're too sweet," Mara grinned and leaned into him slightly.

Jerome leaned closer to her, smilingly slyly, "Pucker up, Jaffray."

To his surprise she was the one to lean in the rest of way, he gently cupped her face and they were kissing. He was tasting the very essence of her; the familiar flavor of books and chocolate. It was he was falling into her, and he never wanted this feeling to stop. At first it would be delicate but soon he was stroking her hair and letting his hands slide down her back. Of course he would never go farther than this, but deep inside him there was a furious desire for more.

Breaking away from the kiss, Mara leaned away and looked up into Jerome's eyes, smiling guiltily.

"What's that smile for?"

"For you," she bit her lip, still smiling.

Suddenly, Jerome gasped and before Mara could inquire why he frantically covered her mouth with his hand, shoving the both of them to the ground behind the snowmen.

Despite sounds of protests, he kept a steady hand on her back and pointed at something.

Furiously, Mara looked up and became still when she saw Victor walking towards the house.

Victor was dressed in a long tan coat and holding a briefcase. When he saw the snowman with Corbiere he started yelling, "Who made this?! I know you're there, stop hiding you delinquents!"

Jerome and Mara stuffed their mittens in their mouths, hoping he wouldn't hear their laughter.

"I will catch you!" Victor cried, waving his fist in the air and stomping over to the snowmen.

Mara and Jerome thought they were toast, but luckily Sibuna was making their way back from the library.

Victor whipped around at the sound of their voices and furiously jabbed his finger in their direction, "Did you make these snowmen?"

"No," Alfie answered and mumbled under his breath, "But I wish we did."

"What gives you the idea that I am going to believe you?" Victor angrily placed his hands on his hips, perfectly mimicking the snowman resembling him.

"There are police officers stationed everywhere," Nina attempted to reply in a flat voice, desperately trying to hide her giggles , "Obviously they would have seen us doing anything suspicious."

"That may be so, Miss Martin," Victor snapped, "But I'll want to search your bags before you'll be leaving anywhere else…"

"I have to pee really badly!" Amber cried, "Victor my bladder is going to burst if you don't let me inside!"

"I think I might have hypothermia," complained Eddie, "My toes might just fall off…"

"My stomach hurts," Joy clutched her stomach, "I'm going to throw up everywhere if I don't get to a bucket soon!"

"Quiet, all of you!" Victor roared, "Just get inside and not another word."

Mick and Trudy also came out, curious about all of the yelling and lack of people in the house. When they caught sight of the snowman they burst into laughter.

"This is not funny!" Victor cried.

"Sorry Victor but it is," Trudy managed to say through her laughter, "Oh Victor you have to admit that it's a little bit funny!"

At this point everybody was laughing except Victor. Mara and Jerome had sneakily managed to slip beside Trudy and Mick without anyone noticing.

Victor sputtered, "I want everybody inside, now! Before I make everybody clean the house with a toothbrush!"

Everyone covered their mouths to muff the giggles and shuffled inside, not daring to look Victor in the eye. He snatched Corbiere and brushed him off, muttering to himself about "those rotten brats". When they reached the warmth and safety of the house a man dressed in a police uniform was standing there, looking very uniform and official. The kids plopped down on the couches and stared up at the man expectantly. After about an hour of the man's ramblings, everybody was rather bored. He basically said exactly what Trudy had said in the letter and everybody had things to do. Jerome and Mara wanted to do more on their last date before Jerome had to leave. Sibuna wanted to get started on the search to protect the descendant. Mick was getting hungry and Trudy wanted to get started on baking everyone's dinner. Finally he realized that everybody wasn't even listening so he abruptly ended his speech.

"Thank you for that…very interesting talk Sergeant Gray!" Trudy waved, feeling sorry for the poor man.

"No problem. To be honest this was a break for me. It's been hectic with this guy on the loose and to top it all off we've lost one of our men, causing me to be promoted. Not that it's a bad thing but just more chaos to try and manage…"

"And who would that be?" Victor asked curiously.

"I'm not allowed to disclose that information right now, sir."

But Victor already knew who it was. Perhaps he had always known this day would come but now that it was here, he was not ready.

* * *

After the police officer had left, Jerome and Mara had set off for more activities and Mick had decided to help Trudy in the kitchen.

"I vote that only some of us should go," Patricia suggested, "If we're always all leaving then it'll look quite suspicious."

"As the Osirian, I second this action and also request that I stay here," Eddie sprawled out on the couch, legs propped up across Patricia's lap.

"Feet off the Patricia," she removed Eddie's legs from her lap and stood up, "Let's go to your room, I want to hear about that new band you were telling me about."

"My room? Things are getting pretty serious…" Eddie ran his fingers through his hair, pretending to be horrified.

Patricia shoved him, "Oh you're such a doofus!" But she blushed slightly as she said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and the two left for Eddie's room.

"Can I stay too?" Amber begged, "Considering that we'll be here for a while I'd like to do a bit of Christmas decorating.

"I'll help, yeah?" said Alfie.

"You don't have to beau," Amber looked down at the ground, knowing that she should give him a break instead of dragging him around, forcing him to do what she wanted, "I can manage."

"I want to though," Alfie gave her a crooked grin and Amber looked in surprise.

"Really?"

"That's what a boyfriend is for," he offered his hand, "My lady, let us bring merry to this fine establishment."

"Practicing for tomorrow?" she bowed and clasped her hand in his, "Are you sure you want to?"

"If it's with you, then how bad could it be?"

Amber nearly tackled Alfie in a hug and she raced up to the attic in search of decorations, Alfie mouthing a _Sorry_ before he chased after her.

"Joy-" Nina began hopefully.

"I'm going to help Mick and Trudes with dinner," Joy eagerly made her way into the kitchen.

"And then there were two," Fabian shook his head, "And here I thought they wanted to do Sibuna stuff, considering how much they complained last night when you wanted to stop doing Sibuna."

Nina laughed, "I guess they weren't so interested in the researching part."

"That's okay," Fabina helped Nina up off the couch and wiggled his eyebrows "We've got the entire library to ourselves."

"Too bad we're too dedicated to this mystery though," Nina poked his nose playfully, "But maybe after we find out the rest of the riddle…"

"Let's get to work then," Fabian grinned and they set off for the library with intentions to figure out the riddle…and a little bit more.

* * *

Meanwhile, after a bit of scavenging in the attic and cellar, Amber and Alfie had gathered up a box of various Christmas decorations that included ornaments, stockings, lights, icicles, and various other things. Alfie had just lugged the Christmas tree from the cellar while Amber came out of her room spinning around gleefully.

"I love decorating!" she squealed, "I've even got my Christmas socks on just for the occasion." Amber extended her leg towards Alfie, showing her red and green striped socks with reindeer on them.

"They're adorable," Alfie laughed, pushing the tree into an upright position in the living room.

Amber inspected the tree for a moment then announced, "It's perfect."

"Great," Alfie rolled up his sleeves, "I think we should save the best for last though. How about we plaster the hallways with these colorful lights, icicles, jingling bells, and Santa hats?"

"Good idea," Amber plopped a Santa hat on Alfie, giggling as he let out a loud _Ho-Ho-Ho!_

The two hung multi colored lights everywhere, streaming them along the staircases and other things. Then they hung icicles all around the house, breaking a few along the way. Jingle bells were strategically placed throughout the house, and Amber's cat Mr. Black Toes decided that jingle bells were his new favorite toy. After that they added Santa hats to everything in sight, like the crocodile on the table, bowls of fruit, the mummy caskets, and Alfie even dared place one on Corbiere when Victor wasn't looking.

Amber was mentally checking things off her decorating list, "What's left besides the Christmas tree, beau?"

Alfie grinned and pulled something out of the box, "Mistletoe."

Letting out an excited shriek, Amber stared gleefully at it, "Where should we put it?"

"Right at the entrance of the living room," Alfie rubbed his hands together mischievously.

"I like the way you think," Amber got a ladder from the school's shed and carefully climbed up the steps, mistletoe in hand.

As he held the ladder still, Alfie watched her attach the mistletoe with tap, thinking to himself that being Amber's boyfriend was actually fun when they both she wasn't so demanding. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the fact that she was already down from the ladder and standing extremely close to him.

Feeling somewhat nervous, Alfie quickly told her, "I'll go put this away, Ambs." He grabbed the ladder and made a beeline for the door leaving behind a disappointed, albeit confused, Amber.

It wasn't like he didn't _want _to kiss Amber, it was just that he didn't exactly know if his kissing was up to her standards. They had never properly kissed, except for a few pecks on the lips and such. But he made up his mind to be spontaneous and just go ahead and kiss her. When he had come back, he realized that Amber was not where he had left her, under the mistletoe. But she on the couch, makeup smudged and hiccupping.

"What's wrong?" he inquired, joining her on the couch.

"I'm fine," she furiously wiped away the tears, "Let's just decorate the Christmas tree, okay?"

Alfie stopped her, "Whoa, wait a minute. I know you're not fine."

She just shook her head, "Alfie I really just…"

"Need to talk to someone," he finished the sentence for her.

Amber let out a long held sigh, "It's just that…well I've been…Alfie I'm a _horrible _girlfriend!" she wailed, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

"There, there," he whispered softly, wrapping his arm around her, "No you're not."

"Yes I am," she argued weakly, "I had _Mara _constantly remind me to be nicer to you because I'm such an awful person that I can't do that on my own. I'm always pushing you to do things and I didn't even let you break up with me!"

"Amber I-"

"I make you do what I want you to do and never ask for your opinion. What kind of a girlfriend is that? You've always chased after me, believing that you don't deserve me but it's me that doesn't deserve you!"

"Amber," he grabbed her arms, "Just be quiet for a minute, yeah?"

Amber hiccupped, nodding.

"I _really _like you Amber, you are so beautiful, bubbly, and sweet. Sure sometimes you can be a little bossy but I already knew that I still choose to be with you."

"But last year-"

"Is the past. We're both more mature now and we've learned from our mistakes."

"Alfie, please-"

"Amber, baby, just shhh for a second, will you?" he said gently, "I'm not going to lie; it was hard to be with you. But now we're different and older, better at this."

"I don't know if I'll ever be better at this," Amber admitted, "I'm trying hard though but sometimes I feel like it's never enough."

"We're both trying and that's all that counts, right?" he smiled, wiping a few tears from her eyes, "Don't cry, Amber."

She laughed softly, grabbing his hand as it ran across her face, "You really think we're going to be okay?"

"Of course I do," Alfie watched as his girlfriend's lip wobbled, barely able to hold back her tears. Watching her look so miserable made him just grab her in a fierce hug. "We'll always be okay, we're Team Amfie."

"Team Amfie," she repeated, smiling more now.

"Still want to kiss me under the mistletoe?"

"Can we just talk? I know you don't want to."

"Of course I want to-"

"No you don't," she laid back on the couch, sleepily curling up against Alfie, "But neither do I, can we just talk?"

So they did. For once, they were just Amber and Alfie, just talking. She wasn't some the dumb blonde, seeking attention and acting innocent. He wasn't the joker, jesting around just to make people laugh. They were just two people talking and laughing. It was new and different but they both liked it, because dropping their acts and being themselves together made them truly happy. They didn't need play pretend because now, around each other, they could be themselves.

Alfie didn't know how long they talked, and later he couldn't recall exactly what they had talked about, but at one point he noticed that Amber had fallen asleep. Her breaths were slow and deep, and with her slightly tousled hair she looked inexplicably peaceful. So he carefully scooted out from beneath her and covered her with a blanket. While she slept he finished decorating the Christmas tree, placing each ornament with precision and care, making sure he was not too loud so Amber could sleep. When she had finally woken up, to her great surprise the Christmas tree looked amazing!

"Beau…did you finish the Christmas tree?" she yawned, slowly putting herself in an upright position.

"Yeah, do you like it?"

"It's beautiful. I can't wait to see what it looks like at night, all lit up!"

"I've got an idea, how about after dinner tonight we bring everybody in here and you can turn on the tree's lights?"

"Okay!" she exclaimed happily then her voice softened, "Thanks Alfie, for everything."

"As your loyal boyfriend it is my duty to serve my lovely Queen."

"You know you don't have to be fancy yet," she giggled at the mention of Queen.

"Just practicing," he winked.

* * *

Joy felt guilty for missing out on all the Sibuna fun.

Well slightly guilty.

She nearly skipped into the kitchen, taking in the delicious smells of their upcoming dinner.

"What's cooking, Trudes?" she asked.

"We've got a pot roast," Trudy replied as she cut up vegetables, "Potatoes and…"

"Chocolate cake!" Mick cried, licking his lips and boiling the potatoes, "It's just waiting to be eaten," he gestured to the enormous chocolate cake, covered in delectable chocolate frosting and big enough to satisfy Alfie, Mick, Eddie, and everyone else.

Joy's stomach growled, "Even my stomach is excited!"

Trudy slapped a hand to her forehead, "I forgot to get the seasoning!" she grabbed her coat, "I'll be right back! Can you two manage while I'm gone?"

"No problem," Joy picked up the knife and started slicing the carrots, "We've got this."

"Thanks lovelies!" Trudy blew them a kiss and dashed off.

"I've got good news," Mick exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"What is it?" she dumped the carrots into the steaming pot.

"I've officially broken up with Mara," he announced, beaming.

"That's great!" Joy grinned back at him, "I'm so happy for you."

"It feels good," Mick stirred the potatoes, "I still have feelings for her, ya know. But it's start, yeah?"

"Exactly. It's the first step to completely getting over her."

Mick shook his head and smiled at Joy, "And here I thought Amber was the only person with dating advice around here."

"Well I certainly wouldn't suggest jumping around in pompoms as a method to get over Mara.."

Mick blushed furiously, "You heard about that? It was _one _time!"

"Sure," Joy giggled, "I bet you do that for all the girls."

"Shhh don't spoil my secret!"

"Just stir the potatoes you dork," she laughed, glad to be with somebody in the kitchen for once. Usually it was just her and Trudy, not that Trudy was bad, it was just that Trudy didn't want to talk about boys or the Hunger Games. Mick probably didn't want to talk about either of those things but still, it was nice to have him around.

The earsplitting sound of a metal band filled the kitchen, causing Joy and Mick to look up and see Eddie walking in. Headphones covered his ears but despite that they could both hear his obnoxious music.

"Can you keep it down?" Joy shouted over the music, "I can't even hear myself think!"

"What? I can't hear you!" Eddie yelled back then realized what she was saying, "Oh!" he turned down the music and slipped the headphones down, "What's up?"

"Dude we're trying to cook," Mick laughed, "We appreciate your taste is music and all but it's not too helpful."

"Cook?" Eddie's eyes were wide at the sight of chocolate cake, he raced over it and dipped his finger in it, moaning in delight.

"Get out!" Joy cried, shooing him away.

Trudy had come back in and scolded Eddie because of the chocolate on his finger, "It's almost ready! Be a dear and get the rest of your housemates, dinner is nearly ready!"

"Sure," Eddie put his headphones back on, banging his head and singing as loud and as horribly as he could.

He was just about to open the front door when Patricia walked in, arms crossed.

"What's your problem, Yacker?"

"You're going outside? Without a coat? It's below freezing."

"It's sweet that you're worried about me," he smirked, "But I'll be fine."

"I can't kiss you if you've got a nasty cold, yeah?" she retorted.

"Oh alright," Eddie snatched his coat off the rack, "You sure do make a convincing argument."

Bracing himself against the harsh wind, he eventually made his way into the library. As he entered in, he rubbed his hands together and blew on them, hoping to regain some warmth in his fingertips.

Nina and Fabian were carefully observing a small object, but he noticed that their hair was slightly ruffled and they both looked a bit messy and breathless, and their cheeks were red. What were they doing in here?

"How's the researching going? If you even have been researching!" he pointed an accusing finger at them.

"W-What are you talking about?" Nina lied, stumbling over her words, "All we've been doing is figuring out the riddle."

"You're terrible at lying," Eddie tsked, "It's sad, really. I can just go back if you two want to resume the kis-"

"Maybe we were," Fabian said quickly, "But that is not what we wanted to tell you," he held up a gray coin, "This is one of the coins they used during the time of Cleopatra's ruling," he pointed to the front side of the coin with a face on it, "This is Cleopatra here, and…" Fabian flipped the coin over, and it looked like a curvy U shape with a circle in the middle, "And this here is the headdress of Isis. It's supposed to be the sun between cow horns. It's actually Hathor's headdress but Isis sometimes wore it…"

"Yeah I get it," Eddie interrupted, "What's so special about it?"

"Look," Fabian thrust the coin so it was an inch away from Eddie's eyes," Someone's gone and wrote on it…"

Fabian was right, Eddie scrunched his eyes up and could make out the words, "_Remember back to the hunt and the find, insert this coin where the midnight sunset shines."_

"How did you guys find this?" Eddie demanded, turning the coin around in his hand.

"_Start by searching for the token_

_Hidden in the arsenal of paper_

_You'll find clues to save her_

_The other ankh placed before journey's end_

_Will help you to send_

_A message to the goddess," _Nina read from her phone.

"Still makes no sense to me."

"Well we looked up what an ankh is, it's the Egyptian symbol for life. It was actually pretty easy, the arsenal of paper is referring to the library so we just looked up books with the title ANKH in them. Then we found one with a coin in it!"

"But what about the riddle? Remember back to the hunt and the find?"

"The cup of Ankh," Nina explained, "The hunt part refers to the sort of treasure hunt thing we had to do in order to find it."

"And the midnight sunset is…?"

"No idea," Fabian sighed, "A midnight sunset is impossible."

"Wait!" Nina cried, "We've had a riddle like this before! Remember Fabian?"

"When daytime ends at midday!" Eddie's shouted.

"That's right," Fabian gave Eddie a perplexed look, "Wait, how did _you_ know? You never helped us with the cup."

"I don't know," Eddie shrugged, "I could just see those words in my mind," he closed his eyes, looking very pained while he rubbed his temples, "It's written on this weird gold thing…in three sections."

Fabian and Nina looked at each other with wide eyes.

"What?"

"That was one of clues for finding the cup of Ankh," Nina explained, watching him carefully, "It was written on one of the pieces of the cup."

"Then why am I seeing it?"

"You're the Paragon and the Osirian," Fabian pointed out, "You have a connection. Is it possible you can…read each other's minds?"

"Maybe," Nina bit her lip, looking directly at Eddie, "Because that's how I saw it in _my _mind."

"There's another thing, it looks like a sunset, but it's on a window," Eddie massaged his forehead, "Oh my head hurts."

"That's exactly what led us to the clue last time," Nina was still staring at Eddie, wondering if he could see what she saw.

"So then," Fabian started grinning, "We just have to go into the attic at midnight and the light from the window will show us where to put the coin!"

"Exactly!" Nina grinned back and Eddie wanted to groan at the cheesy way they were smiling at each other.

"Okay quit the grins, Romeo and Juliet," Eddie rolled his eyes, "I actually came here to tell you guys that dinner's ready."

Fabian shoved the coin in his pocket and the trio set off for Anubis house. Mara and Jerome spent dinner telling everybody about their date adventures and Sibuna kept quiet, just listening to others after a long day of researching. Dinner was delicious especially considering that everybody needed a proper Christmas feast to kick off their holidays. Luckily with the combination of that and the recent decorations it was _beginning to look a lot like Christmas._

Amber and Alfie had herded everyone into the living room when supper was finished and they stood in front of the couches, expectantly waiting for everyone to hush down.

Once they did, Alfie handed Amber the plug in, "As you can see Ambs and I have so kindly decorated the entire house with Christmasey things, and last of all was the Christmas tree."

"I'd like to present…our very first Anubis Christmas all together!" Amber cried excitedly and plugged in the Christmas tree. The tree lit up and it was magnificent. Colorful lights, silver tinsel, ornaments, and best of all was a golden and shining star on top.

"Wow," Mara looked up at the tree with bright eyes.

"It's beautiful," Nina cried, "The Christmas tree has never looked better!"

"Nice job," Jerome commented, giving her a half smile.

"Oh dearies it's perfect," Trudy hugged Amber and Alfie tightly, and then everybody joined in for one massive group hug.

As they hugged Amber cried, "I love Christmas!" and everyone enthusiastically agreed, who couldn't love Christmas when it brought about these kinds of feelings?

"Please?"

"I don't want to."

"But it's your _job, _a sacred duty even!"

"I still don't want to."

Nina and Eddie were arguing in his room, along with the rest of the Sibunas who had just been informed of Nina and Fabian's newest finding.

"Please Eddie? Fabian and I already took the Sibuna shift."

"But it's at midnight…" Eddie groaned, "I want to be sleeping."

"The witching hour!" Jerome exclaimed, grinning evilly, "What evil spirits will be waiting for you, Eddison?"

"Be quiet Jerry."

"Make me," Jerome childishly stuck his tongue out.

"Enough!" Nina cried, "Eddie will you please just do it?"

Eddie tapped a finger on his chin, pondering, "Maybe I'll do it. _If…"_

"If what?"

"If I get to have someone come with me."

"Sure," Nina rolled her eyes, "Pick a Sibuna, any Sibuna," she gestured to everybody else like a circus director.

"How do I choose?" Eddie covered his hand with his mouth in mock horror, "Oh I don't know maybe, PATRICIA."

Patricia smirked, "Good job, didn't even have to do eenie meenie minnie mo. I'm so proud!"

"Alright," Nina smiled, glad that at least Patricia could make Eddie more willing to do things, "Around midnight you two will need to go to the attic and find the sunset looking stained glass mirror. At midnight it will reveal some sort of coin slot thing, and you'll need to put the coin in that," she nodded to Fabian who grabbed the coin out of his pocket and gave it to Patricia, "Got it?"

"And after that?" she asked.

"No idea," Fabian shrugged, "Probably some other riddle Robert Frobisher Smythe has made up for us."

"How in the world did this guy find the time to create a series of tunnels, hide the pieces of a cup, and make riddles for all these weird hunt things?" Joy questioned.

"Who knows?" Fabian shook his head, "And another good question is why does he know that we're going to need to protect the descendant?"

"Maybe he could see the future?" Amber suggested.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Alfie muttered.

"Well," Nina grinned, doing the Sibuna sign, "We've made a lot of progress today. Good luck to Patricia and Eddie tonight and thanks to everyone for all your help. _Sibuna!"_

"_Sibuna!"_

* * *

Patricia's alarm clock buzzed, an obnoxious sound that filled the room.

11:45 P.M.

Hastily, she punched the off button and luckily neither of her two roommates woke up. They only made a few noises, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

Grudging, she snatched the coin from off her bedside table and slipped on a jacket. Then she made a quick exit for the door and headed to Eddie's room. Just as she was about to knock, Eddie opened the door, yawning. He wore flannel pajamas, an old t-shirt, and glasses, with messy hair. Patricia thought, though she hated to admit, that a sleepy Eddie was a very cute Eddie.

"Wakey wakey sunshine," she muttered sarcastically, "We've got things to do."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Glasses? Very cute."

"Oh shut up," he brushed her off, dragging his feet along the floor as they walked to the attic.

When they came to the door Eddie furiously jiggled the door knob, "No luck."

She pulled a torch out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Eddie, "Hold my torch, will you, useless?"

"Torch?" Eddie fiddled with the object, "What an odd name for a flashlight."

Ignoring him, she pulled a bobby pin from her hair, jabbed it into the lock and after a click she opened the door.

"I've taught you well," he nodded approvingly.

They made their way up the long staircase, and right before they reached the last stair they both heard a loud crash, causing Eddie to jump.

"Scared?" she scoffed, "Not such a brave Osirian after all, are you?"

"I'm not scared," he hissed, "The place just sends off…"

"Creepy vibes?" Patricia finished, a grin spreading across her face, "Trust me, I _know _creepy thanks to Robert Frobisher Smythe."

When they reached the attic, Patricia walked around the room, remising of the old days.

She laughed, her eyes filled with traces of old memories, "On Nina's second night I locked her in here."

Eddie snickered, "Good for you."

"Man," she whispered, fingers brushing against the wall, "We were up here _all the time_ last year. Still looks the same, mind you, a bit less creepy thanks to Trudy cleaning it out for Vera."

"Grandma we've heard this story before," Eddie groaned, dragging her to a spot on the floor underneath the sunset glass window.

Patricia slid down to floor onto her belly and Eddie sat across from her, "Got any good ghost stories, Yacker?"

"Once upon time there was a creepy old man who lived forever that murdered a loud idiot in here once," Patricia continued, "But luckily his smart girlfriend got away."

"I'm so scared," Eddie mockingly shuddered, "Where did _you _learn to tell ghost stories?"

"I think I've lived enough ghost stories to tell one or two," she muttered.

"Enough with the long suffering attitude," Eddie rolled his eyes, "We're here to have a nice time!"

"No, we're here to put this coin in a slot," objected Patricia.

"Gah!" Eddie cried, extremely frustrated.

"Calm down," Patricia laid her head on the floor and rolled onto her back, "I think this is your best angle."

"Really?" Eddie leaned down so he was right above her face, "Like this?"

"Oh yeah. With the whole disheveled hairdo and the glasses you're really pulling off the messy sort of cute look."

They both were just smiling at each other, and Patricia wanted to avert her gaze because she wasn't used to acting like this, but she kept her eyes locked on his.

Eddie stabbed a finger at Patricia, "Look at us! We're having a moment!"

"You're ruining the moment by pointing it out."

"Patricia!"

"Sorry, back to the moment."

"It's over now," Eddie crossed his arms, scowling.

"Now don't be like that," Patricia scooted closer to him, "I was just playing around."

"I wasn't! We don't ever do anything together. I mean, are we boyfriend and girlfriend? Sometimes I don't know!"

Patricia sighed, "Of all times you choose _now_ to discuss this?" she brought herself back into a sitting position, "Eddie, obviously I am…_attracted_ to you."

"Way to approach the subject delicately."

"Focus, doofus!" she snapped her fingers in his face, "I like you. And you like me, yeah?"

Eddie nodded.

"And we both find each other…good looking."

He looked up at her, grinning crookedly, "Definitely."

"I mean we fight sometimes, but that's just our personalities. The teasing, the name calling…it's a part of being _us_."

"I'm sorry if we're not acting like a proper couple, but to be honest…" she trailed off for a moment, "We _aren't _a proper couple. Most people don't call their girlfriend Yacker or call their boyfriend slimeball. That's what makes us…well…us!"

"That being said," Patricia said slowly, "_Of course _we're boyfriend and girlfriend. It you want to do more things together, then we will." she held his hand, smiling softly, "And if you want to kiss more often, then…" Patricia leaned close to him, "So be it."

Patricia tilted her head and Eddie pressed his lips to hers, then he wrapped his arms around her waist as she grabbed the back of his neck. It was so heated and with the mixture of feelings it swirled between them like fire. She loved kissing Eddie, it was like they were fighting with their lips. But for a split second she opened her eyes and saw an intensely bright ray of light, so she leaned away from Eddie and in regards to his confused expression pointed to the beam.

Their eyes follow the light and it shone on a piece of the wall, which shimmered in the moonlight. Out of nowhere, a slit in the wall seemed to appear.

"Weird," Patricia stood up and Eddie followed, "But works for me."

Sliding the coin out her pocket, she stuffed it into the slot and they waited.

Nothing.

Then they heard a screeching noise, and an object flew out from the opening and onto the floor.

Eddie crouched to the ground and picked it up, it was golden and looked something like this:

"What the heck is this?" he questioned, flipping it over in his hands, "It has writing! _Place me in the mother's hands._"

"I think we just found," Patricia grabbed it from Eddie and held it up, inspecting it in the light, "An ankh."

"Gesundheit."

"You're a moron."

"But I'm _your_ moron!"

"True enough," Patricia grabbed his hand and they left the attic. Even though it was dark Eddie knew Patricia was grinning.

She had the ankh in one hand and her boyfriend's hand in the other.

Of course she was grinning.

* * *

**I am going kind of crazy right now. The Internet is working on my iPod but not** **the** **computer so I had to upload this from that, which is really inconvenient. So please excuse any errors. Either way hope** **you like it and let's** **get 7 reviews until next chapter.**


	6. Not Too Bad

**December 16: Not Too Bad**

Being shaken violently wasn't exactly the best way to wake up, but on the second day of the holidays at Anubis house that was exactly how Nina Martin was woken up.

She groggily sat up, wiping the sleep out of her eyes and realized that _all _of Sibuna was in her room, looking very awake and excited.

Eddie and Patricia stood eagerly over her bed, Amber was sitting up in her own bed, Jerome and Alfie were sitting on the floor (Alfie was in a classy tux with a green bowtie), and last of all Joy and Fabian were leaning against her railing.

"Um, good morning," she yawned, stretching her arms, "What are you all doing here?"

"'Tis an early day meeting of our most gracious club, Sibuna," Alfie answered, his accent extremely apparent and his voice deeper than usual.

"Okay, what's the occasion?"

"We've got our next clue," Patricia cried, holding up a weird looking object.

"And it couldn't wait until morning?"

"Nope," Amber shrugged, "I guess we're all a little excited to be back in a mystery."

"I'll say," Nina laughed, "Now what in the world is that?"

"An ankh," Eddie explained, thrusting the object into Nina's hands, "It came out of the slot we put the coin into."

"_Place me in the mother's hands_," Nina read, "Okay I have absolutely no idea what that means."

Fabian, who had been remaining silent started grinning, "I know who it is. Whilst researching Isis I discovered a few things. She's the goddess of motherhood, is Horus' mother, and is a very motherly figure in Egyptian history."

"Fabian you're a genius!" Nina cried.

"Maybe this whole riddle thing won't be too hard after all," Joy remarked, "So far it's been pretty easy!"

"Your observation is quite profound," Alfie said, "But I've come to the drastic conclusion that it seems as if our chases like this typically start out rather simple and effortless but as they go on the tasks became rather difficult."

"So we need to place this ankh thing in Isis' hands, has anybody seen a floating pair of hands lately?" Eddie joked.

But a shout from the kitchen interrupted their meeting, "Breakfast is ready everyone!" Trudy cried, which was strange. Normally everyone would just come to breakfast when they pleased, but perhaps today was a special occasion.

"How about this, after breakfast we'll search the house for things that have to do with Isis, sound like a plan, or as Amber says, SLAP?" Nina suggested, "Until then…_Sibuna_!"

"_Sibuna!"_

Everybody left Nina and Amber's room, except for Jerome, who lingered.

"Nina can I talk to you in private?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

"I'll just go then," Amber quickly dashed out the door, leaving the two alone.

"What's up, Jerome?" she asked, walking over to the mirror and pulling her hair into a quick ponytail.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry I'm leaving for the holidays," he sighed, "everyone else is staying here because of Sibuna but I just…"

"I understand," Nina told him kindly, "You want to spend Christmas with your family, who can blame you?"

"I know, but everyone else…"

"Has seen their family every Christmas, but this will be the first Christmas with your dad, right?"

"Yeah," Jerome smiled fondly at the thought of the upcoming holiday.

"It's fine, really," she assured him.

"I'm not out of Sibuna or anything, am I?"

"Of course not," she chuckled, "You're a permanent Sibuna now, don't worry."

"Oh thanks so much Nina. I was just really worried…"

"JEROME AND NINA WE CAN'T EAT WITHOUT YOU HURRY UP," Mick shouted from the kitchen.

"Good old Mick," Jerome chuckled and the two headed for the kitchen.

Instead of the usual tea, toast, and cereal breakfast there was an immeasurable amount of food. Bacons, eggs, sausages, muffins, toast, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, bagels, toast, and tons of every things were piled high, looking and smelling delicious.

"What's all this for?" Nina asked, grabbing a plate.

"Well," Trudy came into the kitchen with a glass of orange juice and milk, "Since it's your last day we thought we'd give you a proper goodbye breakfast!"

"You're the best Trudes," Jerome cried with a mouthful of bacon, grabbing her in a hug.

"Indeed good chap," Alfie agreed, "The words he speaketh are not false."

"I completely forget about the bet," Joy laughed, buttering a muffin, "Ready to lose Alfred?"

"If you would be so kind as to call me Alfredo," Alfie said, carefully cutting up a waffle and eating minuscule bites, "Today I will be victorious in my endeavors to act like the upper class."

"Nobody is going to call you that," Jerome laughed.

"I have faith in you Alfie," Mara told him as she poured syrup over her pancakes.

"I thank you immensely, dearest Mara," Alfie bowed at her.

"You're wasting your money," Patricia scoffed, "He's going to slip."

"O ye of little faith," Fabian scolded.

After a bit of chit chat and a lot of eating Jerome stood up, "Thanks Trudy so much, I've never been more full in my life. But now I'm going to finish packing," he grinned, picking up one last sausage and stuffing it into his mouth before departing. Mara followed quickly after him.

She found him in his room, folding up a shirt.

"You're going to have so much fun."

He looked up in surprise then his expression softened, "I know, I'm actually properly excited for Christmas this year."

"Good," she took the shirt from him and folded it correctly, placing it gently in his suitcase.

"Always a perfectionist," Jerome tsked, but then his tone grew serious, "You know that you can still come if you want…"

"No," she shook her head, "Clarke family Christmas! Not Clarke plus one Jaffray Christmas."

"Ah yes," he said softly, "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too," she admitted, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, "It'll be weird here without you."

"Everybody is always doing stuff together…"

"You'll be fine," he assured, planting a kiss on her forehead, "But I'll stay in touch, yeah?"

There was a loud knocking at the door and Jerome zipped us his suitcase, "That'll be Poppy."

The two walked to the front door, hand in hand. They met Poppy at the door with a suitcase in her hand and a grin on her face.

"Poppy!" Mara cried, hugging the younger girl, "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"We need to hang out more," Poppy turned to his brother, "Ready to go, Jerbil?"

"Only if you are, Poopy."

The rest of Anubis house slowly trailed in and Jerome said goodbye to everyone.

"Be safe and have lots of fun!" Trudy hugged him tightly and motherly stroked his hair, "We'll miss you!"

Outside a cab honked and Jerome came to his last goodbye, Mara.

He reluctantly looked at the door, "Time to go."

"Bye," her voice was small.

"One for the road?" Jerome asked and Mara nodded, pecking his leps.

She put on a grin for him, "Make sure you two have the best Christmas ever, will you?" she pointed at the two of them.

The two Clarkes nodded and Jerome hoisted their suitcases, the siblings walking out the door. When they had lifted their suitcases into the trunk the sound of siren grew louder and a police car was ready to accompany them to their dad's house. After one last wave from Jerome they hopped into the cab and drove away.

As soon as they had left Nina discreetly told all of the Sibunas to begin their search. Alfie and Joy went into the attic, Nina and Eddie checked the library, Fabian and Patricia searched around the house, and Amber went into the cellar.

Normally Amber would feel jealous about Alfie going with Joy but after yesterday's events her self confidence had been greatly boosted.

After cautiously inserting a bobby pin into the keyhole, Amber quietly slipped down the stairs and into the cellar. It was the same as last year, abandoned and empty. Animals that had been stuffed lay scattered on the shelves, collecting dust. All of Victor's old attempts at the elixir of life remained untouched, cobwebs gathering on his vials. She felt nostalgic as she passed the entrance to the secret tunnels, the combination above stiff and unused. There was probably nothing down here, but she looked anyways. It was like taking a stroll down memory lane, looking at the places where they'd had their old adventures. Even the scales, which had once contained their names as the seven acolytes, were rusting. There was an opened treasure chest and she peered in but saw nothing. Amber even flipped through the filthy books that lined the shelves, but nothing came.

Eventually she came across something large that was covered with a red cloth. This made her curious so Amber yanked the blanket off.

It was a large, shiny looking object. She figured out that it was a statue of a woman with a cane in one hand and the other outstretched, as if it was reaching for something. Then it came to her! This was a statue of Isis! She remembered looking at the pictures of Isis in the library books, and she had always been carrying the ankh that Patricia and Eddie had found. Feeling rather successful, she dashed upstairs to tell the others.

Amber had reached the living room and the rest of the Sibuna clan.

"I found something!" Amber cried excitedly, "In the cellar there was a statue of Isis!"

"Really?" Nina grabbed her by the shoulders, "Was it…"

Amber nodded, "One of the hands was empty!"

"Perfect!" Nina grinned at the blonde, "Now who wants to go put the ankh in the statue's hand?"

"Alfie and I will," Joy volunteered.

"Good luck roomie," Patricia pulled the ankh out of her pocket and handed it to Joy.

"Now let us situate this ankh piece onto the majestic hands of the Goddess Isis," Alfie said, straightening his bowtie.

"It should be unlocked," Amber shoved a bobby pin into her hair, pulling back her bangs.

"Marvelous," Alfie clapped his hands, "What a spectacular occasion this outing shall be!"

"Let's go," Joy groaned, rolling her eyes and dragging Alfie by his arm into the cellar.

"The statue my lady Amber spoketh of is over there!" Alfie pointed to it and the two walked over to it.

Joy marveled at the massive figure, reaching into her pocket to pull out the ankh. With two hands she delicately inched closer to the statue's unoccupied hand.

"This movement should be done with _extreme_ caution," Alfie warned.

"I'm doing my best," Joy stuck out her tongue in intense concentration and she slowly dropped the ankh into the right position.

The statue's hand immediately clutched the ankh, causing Joy to jump back in surprise. Statues weren't supposed to move! Then its mouth opened and a piece of paper flew to the floor.

Alfie crouched down, lightly picking it up and showing it to the girl.

"_The judgment house map, already found_

_Reveals the animals underneath the ground_

_But only will a raven's tear unveil the buried four_

_And show the location of the sons of war_," Joy read.

"This riddle is undoubtedly confusing," Alfie remarked, scratching his head.

"Well said Sir Alfredo," Joy agreed, thrusting the paper into her pocket, "Let's go show the others."

Right as the two Sibunas had arrived at the top step they quietly shut the door to the cellar.

"What are you two sneaking around for?"

Joy and Alfie both turned around stared up at their house caretaker, Victor, with horrified expressions.

"Victor! Er," Joy stammered, "We were just..."

"Please forgive us sir," Alfie knelt at Victor's feet, "For we have done you wrong. But we shall never do it again. It was merely an act of childish behavior, naught but a foolish activity that will never be repeated."

Victor looked back and forth at the two kids, utterly speechless at Alfie's speech. This was Alfie, who burped, made noises, never said he was sorry, and was always causing trouble and now he was apologizing to Victor.

"Well," Victor's expression was hesitant, "Perhaps I will let you off this time. Don't let me catch you doing that again!"

"We won't!" Joy guaranteed, sighing in relief. For once, Alfie had saved them! Then the two Sibunas nearly skipped away from a very confused Victor.

Once they were at Nina's room, Joy announced to the waiting Sibunas, "We did it!"

"I heard Victor talking to the two of you," Fabian looked uncertain, "No toilet cleaning with the lone toothbrush?"

"Nope!" she grinned at Alfie, "And it's all thanks to Alfie."

"_What_?" Eddie gasped, "Are we talking about the same Alfie."

"I pretended to express our extreme regret for troublemaking," Alfie folded his arms, feeling rather superior, "And to our great delight Victor accepted my most gracious apology."

"Fanciness saved the day," Patricia laughed, "Now that's something you don't hear every day."

"So what's the next clue?" Amber asked eagerly.

Joy read them the next riddle.

"_Now _they're getting harder," groaned Eddie.

Amber hopped up off of her bed and stood next to Nina, "Neens and I've got this one!" she noted Fabian's expression, "Sorry Fabian, but you've got to share! Sharing _is_ caring as they say."

Nina laughed at her roommate, "Sounds good. Thanks Joy and Alfie for getting the riddle, now everybody go and enjoy some time off."

The Sibunas left the girls room, Fabian shaking his head as he walked away, waving to his girlfriend. Joy placed the paper containing the next clue on Nina's nightstand.

"Now that they're gone…" Amber plopped down next to Nina on the bed, "How are the Fabina dates going?"

"Fine I guess?" Nina shrugged, "Two days ago we had a nice time on our walk and yesterday in the library after our research we…well yeah that's it."

"That's it?" Amber grinned, "That's not it! Tell me more, what did you do in the library?"

"Oh nothing," Nina blushed, fiddling with her blankets.

"Come on," Amber playfully nudged her friend, "We're BFFs! You _have_ to tell me!"

"I guess you could say that we kissed some," Nina looked away, feeling a little embarrassed.

"So precious," Amber sighed, "You've grown up so much."

"Mhmmm," Nina mused, "We're much more experienced at kissing now, at least."

Amber giggled, "I'm so proud. I swear last term you two were horrible at kissing."

Nina raised an eyebrow and Amber quickly corrected herself, "I don't mean horrible _at _kissing itself, I do not doubt your kissing skills. I just mean that you two never really kissed that much."

"No, we never did," Nina agreed, "It's just a lot…_better _this year. We're going on dates and kissing…"

"Finally you two have gotten your act together," Amber moaned, remembering their precious years, "I was beginning to worry about _my _skills as your love advisor. So are you happier now?"

Nina nodded and smiled, "I'm a lot happier. Now we're best friends and a couple, and that's what I've always wanted."

"I don't know how you two do that," Amber confessed.

"Speaking of, how are things with you and Alfie?"

Amber thought back to the yesterday, "Very good. I'm learning to be a lot less…harsh with him. Sometimes I forget that deep inside he's in the same situation I am, still figuring out how to be together. But to say the least it's improved a ton from last year."

"I'm glad," Nina sighed, "Now time to quit the boy talk and begin the riddle talk! Never thought I would say that…"

Nina grabbed the riddle, "One by one we'll figure this out. _The judgment house map, already found_," she bit her lip, "What does that mean?"

"So it's a map of something, but it's already found? Does that mean we have it?"

"Possibly. Judgment house? A house of judging?"

"Hmmm," Amber laid back on Nina's bed, staring up at the ceiling, "No clue."

Nina sighed and joined her, "Maybe we should go to the library."

"I thought we already found all of the secrets to Anubis house, but there's always more."

"Anubis house…" Nina sat up quickly, "Anubis house!"

"Though repeating my words may be a good tactic for you, it doesn't help me at all," Amber muttered.

"No I figured it out!" she cried, "Anubis is the God of Judgment, so it means Anubis house!"

"Do we have a map of-OH," Amber pulled herself up, "We have a map of Anubis house! Remember last year, there was a map in the dollhouse about from the tunnels!"

"Great!" Nina slapped a hand to her forehead, "Except we have no idea where it is."

"Actually…I know exactly where it is."

"Awesome, where?"

"Well it's kind of in the Fabina Scrapbook of Memories," Amber said tentatively, then frowned at Nina's bewilderment, "You know, the one I got you and Fabian for Christmas!"

Nina still shook her head and Amber groaned, "I _cannot_ believe you forgot, I put a lot of work into that you know!" the blonde slid of her friend's bed and peered around their room. Once she spotted the book Amber picked it up and brought it to Nina.

"Why is it in here?" Nina inquired, opening the book and flipped through the pages until she found the map.

"I used is to mark where you and Fabian had cute moments and such!" Amber cried defensively, "Nobody was using it!"

"Oh gosh," Nina laughed. There were several little pink hearts speckled throughout the old parchment. Some of them included, _Where Fabian asked Nina to prom, Where Fabian shared his jacket with Nina, Where they played hopscotch and they were totally flirting, Where Fabian saved Nina from falling down the chasm, _and so on and so forth. She smiled fondly at each of the memories.

"Amber this is really something," Nina grinned, fully appreciating the gift.

"You're welcome," Amber smiled, "One day you'll show this to your kids and say that their Aunt Amber helped bring their parents together."

"I sure hope so," Nina confessed, "Don't tell Fabian I said that."

"No promises! Now what about the raven's tear?"

"I think that it means that this raven tear thing will show a new place on the map," Nina answered, "Robert Frobisher Smythe used to refer to Victor as the Raven, could it be his tears?"

"Or Corbiere's tears?" Amber suggested.

"Maybe we'll skip that part for now," Nina mumbled, "Okay so there are four animals buried somewhere around Anubis house, and they're the sons of war."

"Dead animals?" Amber cried incredulously, "That's awful!"

"It might not be literal animals. Sons of war…Four sons of war…"

"What I don't get about the Egyptians is why they are so obsessed with the afterlife? All of the mummies, weird burying, and preserving…yuck."

"To Egyptians death wasn't the end," Nina explained, "It was just a step. Sometimes they would spend their whole life preparing for the afterlife."

"Born to die," Amber stuck out her tongue in disgust, "That's _morbid_. Why did they have to leave gold and stuff with all their kings?"

"Death is inventible," Nina said, eyes flashing to the picture of her parents, "They would leave precious gifts with their rulers because they thought those items were needed in the afterlife. They wanted to make sure the dead had all they needed."

"But when you die," Amber paused, trying to articulate her thoughts, "You just _die_. That's it, you're done. Can't bring anything with you to whatever comes next. I just don't think I agree with the Egyptian beliefs…"

"I dunno. To me the idea that there is something after this is…comforting. How could a life be so meaningless, that after all this work we just crumble to dust and not exist?" Nina shook her head, "I like how the Egyptians dealt with death. Carefully preserving their loved ones, hoping to protect what's left of them."

"How did they protect them?"

"Their burial system was quite complex," Nina clarified, "They used Canopic jars to store certain body parts…OH MY GOSH AMBER YOU'RE A GENIUS!"

"Of course I am," Amber grinned, nodding, "Wait, how exactly am I a genius?"

Nina scrambled off her bed and grabbed one of her books, hastily flipping through the pages, "It's gotta be in here somewhere...ahhh!" Nina exclaimed, "Here it is! _The Ancient Egyptians would place the vital organs in Canopic Jars. There were four types, each representing the four sons of Horus, guarding these sacred organs."_

"Horus was the God of war, right?" Amber asked.

"Exactly!" Nina held her hand up, "High five, we are the best at this!"

Amber high fived her best friend eagerly, "Thank you, genius self!"

Nina giggled but then frowned, "Except we have no idea where these Canopic jars are buried because who knows what the Raven's tear is."

Amber sighed wearily, "I think we've done enough work today. Let's tell the others and well…just search Victor's office for anything tear related."

"The lazy plan?" Nina slammed the book shut and put it away, "I'm all for that."

Once the two girls had told everyone about what they had figured out, Fabian and Patricia decided that they could rummage through Victor's office later. For now it was suppertime.

At dinner Mara cleared her throat, "I have an idea!"

"Oh no," Patricia looked horrified, "Everybody run, before you're reading strange books or volunteering for things!"

"Not _that_ kind of idea," Mara scowled, "I think we should send Jerome a Christmas card!"

"Not even twenty four hours and you're already doing this?" Eddie scolded, "I know you and Jerry are a thing now but this has gone too far."

"It'll be cute!" Mara cried, "We could stand in front of the tree and make silly faces, yeah?"

"What if we all wore ugly jumpers?" Joy suggested, grinning.

"Jumpers?" Nina asked.

"Sweaters as they say in your country," Mara explained, "But yes Joy we definitely should!"

"And we could have Santa hats," Mick said with a mouthful of spaghetti.

"I have a ton leftover from the school dance," Fabian added, "Possibly even some elf hats as well."

"See guys? Wouldn't it be fun?"

"As long as my jumper isn't _too_ horrid," Amber shuddered at the thought, "Then I'm totally okay with this."

Trudy came in, a pot full of noodles in hand, "What's all this talk about jumpers?"

"We want to send Jerome a Christmas card!" Mara beamed at her housemates, "And wear ugly jumpers and Santa hats, posing in front of the tree!"

"That sounds great lovelies, but where are you going to get the jumpers? Most of the stores are closed…"

"Fear not my friends," Alfie stood up and pushed in his chair, "Allow me to locate such hideous jumpers," he dashed from the table and into the hallway.

A few minutes later with a handful of clothes he cried, "I come bearing gifts!" he started handing out the sweaters to everyone.

"Wait a minute!" Trudy inspected the clothing carefully, "These are mine!"

"Why do you have so many dreadful ones?" Patricia asked, holding up a red one with a reindeer sewn on it, "Has someone got a secret hobby?"

"No! These are supposed to be my cute jumpers, I made them myself."

"Aw they're not too bad," but Eddie grimaced, pulling the blue one with obnoxiously patterned snowflakes over his clothes, "Okay maybe they're that bad."

"They're comfy," Joy noted, pulling the sleeves of hers up, "Could be worse."

Trudy examined one of the sweaters, it was an alarming shade of green with a snowman on the front, "Oh dear," she laughed, "These really are terrible!"

The house quickly cleaned up the dishes from dinner and gathered in the living room. Now that they were all dressed in horrible jumpers, Fabian handed out Santa and elf hats to everyone and they were all posing in front of the Christmas tree. Joy ran into her room, grabbing the old camera she had received many birthdays ago.

Trudy took the camera from Joy and gestured for everyone to squish together, "Say cheese!"

"Wait!" Mick cried, spotting Amber's kitten, Mr. Black Toes, snoozing on the couch. He placed a Santa hat on the cat's head, "Feline Navidad!"

Amber grinned, picking up her kitten and holding him out like in the Lion King.

Trudy laughed, shaking her head, "Sometimes…" she held down the shutter button, "Okay everyone! Smile!"

Everyone grinned cheesily, showing off their jumpers and pointing to their festive hats.

A few clicks went off as Trudy took pictures, "Patricia act happier, it's Christmas!" she snapped one more picture, "Done!"

Mara overviewed the pictures, "I love them," she turned to everyone else, "Thanks so much guys! Jerome will love this…"

"Make sure he sends us one back," Eddie said, "And it had better be just as horrible."

* * *

"Are you sure this will get Victor out of his office?" Fabian asked once again, watching the corner nervously.

"Fret not dear Fabian," Alfie answered, placing a last piece of cheese on the floor, "For my plan is astonishingly brilliant and fairly fool-proof."

Fabian and Patricia were about to search through Victor's office to the find the so called Raven tear mentioned in the riddle. Alfie had created a trail of cheese that lead to Victor's office and eventually ended on Corbiere. Patricia was stroking Mr. Black Toes, waiting to release the kitten.

"The deed is done," Alfie dropped the last piece of cheese right on Corbiere's head, "This miniscule cat shall follow this strategically placed trail of cheese and find itself looking for the last piece so it gracefully pounces upon the raven! I will cry out in help, announcing loudly that Corbiere is injured. After this is done, I shall remove the kitten from the premises so that it may not be blamed. Then Victor will rush into his office and cry, woe is me! For my raven hath suffered grave injury. After this fiasco he will search for the glue to fix his precious raven's feathers. But alas, I have dumped all the glue in our entire house straight down the toilet! Thus making him go the store and giving the two of you a proper distraction."

"Thank you for that very detailed plan Alfredo," Patricia shook her head in disbelief, still wondering how Alfie had managed to act posh all day, "Thank you for your services."

"Tis a pleasure to serve my fellow Sibuna members," Alfie bowed and quickly departed, waiting for his moment as he sat, concealed behind the stairway.

"I can't believe he's going to win the bet," she moaned, "I wasted money on that boy!"

"Should have listened to me," Fabian chided.

"I've learned my lesson," Patricia gently placed Mr. Black Toes on the floor, "Have fun little guy."

Then the two found a hiding place, watching the cat happily nibble at each piece of cheese and follow the path.

"I didn't know you were a cat person, Patricia."

"Eh I'm more of a dog person really," she admitted, "But he's cute and fluffy, how could I resist?"

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Patricia?"

"Oh shut it Rutter," she punched his shoulder.

"That's the Patricia I know," he mumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

Finally Mr. Black Toes had found his way into Victor's office, saw Corbiere and jumped onto the bird, attacking it. Feathers were flying and the black kitten happily ate the last piece of cheese. Alfie sprinted in, snatched up the kitten, placed him in Amber's room, and went back into the office.

"Corbiere has been attacked!" Alfie shouted.

Victor, upon hearing his beloved bird's name, swiftly came up the stairs, "What did you say boy?"

Alfie pointed to the damaged raven, "Victor, it's Corbiere! Something happened to him!"

Victor scrambled to pick up the animal, "Oh Corbiere. What have these brats done to you?"

"I was merely coming upstairs to visit my dearest Amber, but I came upon this dreadful sight so I called for you!"

"You had better hope that I do not find out that you're lying," Victor mumbled, searching through his cabinets, "Where is the glue?"

"I haven't a clue sir," Alfie admitted, quickly slipping away to Amber's room.

"Trudy do we have any glue?" Victor yelled.

There was the sound of shuffling and opening pantries, "We must be out!"

Victor groaned, collect his coat and mumbling, "I cannot believe I have to ask for a police escort to just run to the store for glue…"

"Can't you just wait?" Trudy asked.

"This is an urgent matter!" Victor cried, "Call the police station immediately and arrange an escort!" he ran downstairs to get his car.

"Oh dear," Trudy sighed, dialing buttons on the telephone.

"Here's our chance!" Fabian cried, and he and the redhead sprung out from their hiding place and ran into Victor's office.

Patricia quietly shut the door and blinds, peeking around the corner once more just in case.

Alfie had come out of Amber's room, "All's clear!" He was going to be their lookout.

"All right now let's hurry," Fabian searched through a stack of papers, "We haven't got much time."

"I know," Patricia muttered, opening all of the drawers, "Better hope we find something…"

"I doubt Victor keeps his tears bottled," Fabian kneeled on the floor, trying to see if he could spot anything.

"Who knows?" Patricia joked, "He might, considering the fact that he hardly ever cries."

Fabian laughed, "Maybe."

"Should we check the safe?" Patricia suggested.

"That's a good idea," Fabian scooted towards the safe, pressing buttons on the keypad, "I hope he hasn't changed the combination since last year…aha!" the door opened, "Not so smart after all, are we Victor?"

Patricia joined Fabian, inspecting the items within, "No tears here…"

Fabian grabbed a blue ring laying on the shelf, "What's this? Was Victor _married_?"

"Maybe he bought it for Vera? But then when he found out she was a double agent hid it away," Patricia examined it, "But he didn't sell it because he couldn't let go of Vera."

"Nah," Fabian shook his head, "It's too big for that."

"Perhaps Victor just really likes jewelry," Patricia shrugged, "I doubt it's anything."

"Wait a minute," Fabian tried pulling on the ring on the top opened, "It opens!"

"Oh my gosh," Patricia's eyes were wide, "Is that…?"

"Yes," the boy nodded numbly, "It's a tear of gold."

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, I mean look at it! It's glowing…"

It was late evening and the two were showing Nina what they had found in Victor's office. Fabian had placed the tear of gold in a small plastic bag.

"I just don't understand," Nina shook her head, "If he had the tear of gold…why didn't he use it to make the elixir?"

"And more importantly, where did he get it from?" Patricia questioned.

"Well," Nina confessed, "He got it from me."

"_What?" _the two asked in unison.

"It's not like that!" Nina cried, "When I fell down in the Senet game I was trapped down there with the ghost of Victor's father. He told me to give Victor a ring…"

"The tear was in a ring," Fabian said, "But I guess he just never made the elixir, I mean he _has _been getting older. Are you sure this is the Raven's tear?"

"It has to be," Nina took the bag from her boyfriend, "Well at least now he can't use it."

"I still want to know why he never used it," Patricia sat down on the ground, "I mean he was so obsessed with living forever, but now that he's got it he doesn't want it?"

"Immortality has a price," Fabian said wisely, joining her, "Shall we put it on the map?"

"Might as well," Nina grabbed the map from her bed and sat beside her friends.

"What is this?" Patricia took it from her, laughing.

Nina blushed, "It was in Amber's present to me and Fabian."

"Ah," Fabian eyed the map, flushing brightly, "Perhaps we'll have to look through that in private next time."

"Yes," Nina agreed, taking the map back from the girl, "Now let's do this," she carefully removed the tear from the bag, holding it lightly between her index finger and thumb. Nina dropped it over the map and it dissolved into the paper, making the entire thing glow a golden color. Then all of the gold shrunk into one small spot and it flashed a brighter gold, then it went back to normal. Four small jar looking tings appeared on the place where the gold had been.

"There we go!" Patricia cried eagerly, "Now what about getting these Canopic jars?"

"We can't exactly go about digging up things around here," Fabian bit his lip, "That'll be a bit obvious."

At that moment Eddie burst in, a bag of crisps in his hand, "You guys find the tear thingy?"

Nina showed Eddie the new location on the map, "Yes, and better yet we know where the next clue is."

Eddie smirked, "Aw look at all of these memories, how _delightful_."

She yanked the map away, cheeks red, "Can we just forget about that?"

"Save the reminiscing for later," Patricia grumbled, "I know where the jars are. They're on the grounds, right outside Sweet's office."

"Perfect," Eddie groaned, "What are you doing son? Oh you know dad, just on the hunt for the next riddle to saving the descendant of Cleopatra, wanna join? It'll be good bonding time!"

"We can do it in the middle of the night," Nina assured, "That way nobody will catch us."

"It'll be freezing," Eddie complained, "Being a Sibuna is lots of work. So around midnight we'll do some digging? Fun."

"You're my Osirian," Nina reminded him, "We'll have to do some weird stuff together at some point or other. Why not start with a midnight digging in winter?"

"Gee thanks, dearest Paragon of mine," Eddie laughed, "So glad you've planned such exciting activities for us to do together."

Fabian opened his mouth to protest, but closed it. Eddie and Nina were connected, so it wouldn't hurt anyone if they did things together. Still it made him feel a twinge of jealously, but he tried to cast those petty feelings aside.

"Make sure you get the shovel from the garage," Nina put the map back in their scrapbook, "Or else we'll be digging by hand."

"Maybe we can dig up some bodies or something, I'm sure this Frobisher Smythe guy might want us to do that at some point. He's pretty crazy, you have to admit."

"Crazy? He's practically insane," Patricia interjected, "Most people usually don't have two Egyptian treasures hidden in their house _and _know that some kids in the future will need to save the descendant of Cleopatra."

"Ya know Yacker," Eddie grinned, "Maybe when we have a house we can hide some ancient treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamen throughout our house?"

"Wouldn't want the kids to get bored over the summer," Patricia agreed, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Want to play videogames? No way! When your father and I were your age we had to save the world from insane people who wanted to live forever, so get to work and figure out that clue!"

"Your father and I?" Eddie echoed, "That certainly escalated quickly."

"You thought I was talking about you?" Patricia scoffed, "I was talking about Fabian, you doofus. Right, future hubby?"

"Whatever you say, lovely wife," Fabian played along.

The four friends laughed together until tears came out of their eyes. Fabian forgot his feelings of envy and relaxed, he and Nina would always be alright.

* * *

As the night went on things went on smoothly. Victor came back with a fixed Corbiere and was too tired to blame any of the kids. Mara and Joy began constructing the holiday card that was going to be sent to Jerome. Trudy made cookies but Mick and Eddie ate most of them, coming in from the kitchen with cookie crumbs and milk on their faces. Trudy scolded them but made brownies for everyone else. Mara Skyped Jerome and he told her that today they went sledding in their dad's murderer free town and went Christmas shopping. Fabian and Nina were now experts on Australia thanks to Fabian's present from Mick, and were, to everyone's annoyance, blurting out random facts about Australia every now and then. _Did you know that…_yes, _you've told us before_! Amber was lecturing Patricia on proper hand holding because she noticed her and Eddie were not doing a very good job. _No Patricia your fingers have to be like this…Amber I really don't care! But you should, hand holding is like a sport these days! _Victor didn't even drop his pin because of the holidays, so nobody had a curfew! Alfie had won the bet, having lasted long enough acting fancy without indulging in his Alfie behavior. Everyone unhappily watched as Alfie, Fabian, and Mara high fived and excitedly split the money between the three of them. They mumbled about how it wasn't fair but grudgingly went to bed, all but the three having less money than they started with and vowing to be smarter when the next bet came around. At midnight Eddie and Nina wore the biggest coats, shovels in hands and grimaces on their faces as they dug in the freezing weather.

"Why couldn't we have protected the descendant during the springtime?" Eddie grumbled, digging with his shovel, "Or on a beach? Sand is easier to dig up!"

Nina wiped a bit of sweat off her brow, "Stop whining and keep digging," she snapped.

"No need to be snarky!" Eddie laughed, tossing dirt on her, "Lighten up!"

Nina brushed the dirt off her clothes, "Don't expect me to be like Patricia and have a dirt fight with you, it is way too late for that."

"You're no fun," he complained, "At least Yacker would have made this better."

"Well you're stuck with me, I mean we're yin and yang. We're going to have to learn to get along sometime!"

"_Me_? Get alongwith some goody two shoes girl who's always reading books and pleasing everyone?" Eddie scoffed, "Not happening."

"You're such a jerk!" Nina cried, scowling at him.

"See this is the part where Patricia and I usually kiss because we're fighting so passionately," Eddie sighed longingly, "You never what you have until it's gone."

"Oh geesh," Nina rolled her eyes, "You think I want to be with _you_? You're an arsehole, as our charming British friends say."

"I'm so glad to have a fellow kind American here with me," Eddie sneered, "Especially since we're supposed to have some sort of supernatural connection."

"Shut up and look!" Nina's shovel hit something hard, "We've found them!" the two kneeled to the ground and brushed away the rest of the dirt, uncovering four rusty jars.

Eddie yanked them out the ground, "These are heavy!"

They inspected the four jars, they were all relatively the same in size but each one had a different head. There was a jackal, human, baboon, and falcon head.

"Do they open?" Nina asked and Eddie jerked the lids off. They peered inside to see that each had an identical vial inside, with some sort of green liquid inside.

"Look on the bottoms!" Eddie cried, flipping the jar upside down, each one had a message at the bottom. Together it made this:

_The breath of life is the one to choose_

_To pour on the wall where the Raven brews_

_But be careful my young friends_

_Pick the wrong one and this journey ends_

"The breath of life?" inquired Eddie, very perplexed.

"Oh that's easy," Nina turned over the baboon headed jar, "This is Hapi, one of the four sons of Horus, he guarded the lungs, aka the _breath _of life."

"You're pretty handy with your knowledge of all this Egyptian crap," Eddie pulled out the vial and slid it into his pocket.

"Thanks," Nina picked put some of the dirt back in the hole to uncover their tracks, "Fabian and I got pretty interested in it when we first started and even when we weren't trying to stop eternal life crazed people I still liked learning about it."

"It sure is helpful," he picked up the shovel and two of jars, "We better put these away somewhere, just in case."

"Good idea," Nina grabbed the other two and they headed back to the house, shivering against the brutal wind, "Thanks for helping tonight, even though I'm not as good as Patricia."

"Aw don't let it get you down," he grinned, "You're not too bad though, _Chosen One."_

Nina gave him a half smile, "Not too bad yourself, _Osirian._"

* * *

Victor had his head in his hands, sighing resignedly, "Those brats took the tear of gold," he told Corbiere.

Silence, like the usual.

"I was thinking of giving it to Jason," he slid the ring back on his finger, "To stop him from doing anymore damage. But now that power has taken from me…" he stroked Corbiere, "Perhaps it's best that way."

He let out a deep breath, "I know too much and that would have only caused me trouble. I know what Jason has done…but I cannot tell anyone, that will only make it worse for all. The others are still alive for now, as far as I know Corbiere. I can only hope it stays that way and I see no more of that poor man."

He heard a clang of metal from inside the garage but was exhausted, so he ignored it, "What have I become? Something to make such an innocent man like Jason Winkler into something so horrible?" Victor leaned back in his chair, "What is the point of living forever if you are going to be alone and corrupt?" Sometimes he wished the bird could offer him advice, "Is this life of mine even a life at all?"

These questions swirled through Victor's head and would continually haunt him, and Corbiere would still be silent, a comfort and a curse to the old man.

* * *

**Oh gosh using fanfiction on a computer is so much nicer than on an iPod. Hope you guys are liking this so far! Because I love writing it. SORRY SORRY SORRY FOR HOW LATE IT IS TO BE UPDATNIG. When break starts I will post new chapters at decent times! Not much of an author's note today...so 7 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER! Thanks! Also, thanks so everyone who has reviewed so far bless your hearts, reviews really encourage me to write more.  
**


	7. Chosen to Die

**December 17: Chosen to Die**

After breakfast the next morning, Mara, who had apparently made a habit of announcing things at mealtimes, declared that they should have a Christmas movie marathon. Mostly everyone agreed that this was a swell idea, but Fabian, Nina, Eddie, and Patricia gave each other a worried glance, there were riddles to be solved and a descendant to be saved, but for now they'd be okay to just relax. Mara asked Joy and Mick to pop some popcorn while she and Fabian chose some movies.

Joy ripped open the plastic and placed the popcorn into the microwave, "So how are things with you getting over Mara?"

"Pretty good," he dumped a popped bag into a massive silver bowl, "Considering the fact that she's _absolutely_ _nutters _over Jerome."

"Excellent deduction Sherlock," Joy teased, "But it means you're learning to accept that fact, right?"

Mick nodded, "Yeah. I wish we weren't watching movies though…"

"Why?" Joy threw a handful of popcorn in the air, skillfully catching them all in her mouth.

"Mars and I always used to watch movies together," Mick sighed, "Then we'd cuddle, hold hands, kiss, or something…"

"I'll sit between you two, yeah?" Joy smiled brightly, "I can't imagine you cuddling with someone though, or holding hands for that matter."

"I am the king of being a cliché boyfriend!" cried proudly, "I'm not just some football player doofus, I can be sweet!"

"Aw so Mickie Wickie is actually just a big teddy bear after all," Joy laughed.

"You've figured out my greatest secret," Mick mockingly dipped his head in shame.

"I won't tell a soul," Joy assured, "Your machoness may continue, despite my new knowledge."

"Thanks," Mick laughed, grabbing filled popcorn bowl, "Shall we?" he gestured for her to lead the way.

"Such a gentleman," she giggled, heading back into the living room.

Joy and Mick entered into the living room to see all the couples obviously sitting together. Eddie and Patricia were sort of tangled together, a mess of what some may call cuddling but no one dared comment. Nina and Fabian were very close, perhaps snuggling. Amber had her head in Alfie's lap and he was comfortably lounging on the couch. Joy and Mick sat amidst all of the embracing couples. The bowl was set respectively in the middle, and Mara popped the first movie into the DVD player.

"First up is Elf!" she cried happily, pressing play. Then she went over to the couch to find a place to sit. The only real room was near Mick and Joy. But Joy had remembered her promise to Mick earlier about making sure that he didn't sit by Mara so she scooted extremely close to Mick and inconspicuously moved him so that the only spot for Mara was right next to Joy. Mara gave the two a sideways look, a mix between confused and possibly happy. As she sat down Mara stared quizzically at Joy but Joy ignored it and the movie began.

Well into the second movie, which was _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_, Nina became very anxious. Mara had an exceedingly large stack of Christmas movies that were all queued up to watch. But they needed to figure out the rest of the riddle. After several minutes of attempting to catch Joy's attention the two finally locked eyes.

"I'm thirsty," Nina said in a low voice, very slowly, eyes stuck on Joy.

Joy quickly understood, "Me too, I'll join you."

The two quickly stood up and walked into the kitchen. When they got there Nina turned on the faucet, hoping that no one could hear them this way.

"Okay, so can you and Amber solve the last part of this riddle?" Nina asked hopefully, pulling out her phone and opening the pictures folder.

Joy squinted at the phone, "_To pour on the wall where the Raven brews_."

"Here," Nina gave her the vial, "Will you do it?"

"Of course," Joy beamed, slipping the vial into her pocket, "I'll get Amber."

Once the girls were back into the living room Joy nudged Amber, mouthing the word _Sibuna. _Amber grinned and the two slipped out of the living room and into Amber's room.

"What do we need to do?" Amber questioned.

Joy showed her the vial and repeated the part of the riddle that Nina had told her.

"The Raven is so Victor," Amber said, "But I have no idea where he brews."

"Well brew means to prepare or make something," Joy fiddled with the vial between her hands, "Where does Victor make stuff?"

"In his office?"

Joy shook her head, "Victor makes people miserable in there, but other than that he doesn't really make anything in there."

"And he doesn't even go into the attic anymore, so that's also a no."

"Why did he use the word brews?" Joy sighed, "That makes him sound like a witch, brewing potions in her black cauldron."

"That's it!" Amber cried, "Brewing potions! Last year when he was trying to make the elixir of life Victor was always testing things in the cellar."

"But he doesn't make things on the wall, why would it say that then?"

"We just need to dump this liquid thing on the wall nearest to where he experiments."

"Alright let's do it!" Joy grinned, and they snuck down to the cellar door.

Amber began to get a bobby pin out of her hair but Joy stopped her, "It's unlocked," Joy opened the creaking door.

"That's weird," Amber hesitated at the entrance, "I'm not sure we should go down…"

"Don't be a fraidy cat," Joy teased, "We're just lucky, that's all."

Amber, who was usually not the cautious one, peered down the winding stairs, taking one reluctant step. Nothing happened.

"See? It's fine!"

"It's fine," Amber repeated, brushing away the lingering feeling that she should not go and descended down the stairs anyway.

Once they reached the bottom, Amber started to lead Joy to the spot where Victor had his vials and old elixir attempts. But Amber heard a faint crashing sound and spotted the old man himself. Joy however, did not notice and continued walking, despite Amber's frantic waves. So the blonde took desperate measures and clamped her hand over Joy's mouth, shoving the both of them to the ground and concealed from Victor's sight. Joy made incoherent noises of protest but immediately quieted when Amber pointed to Victor. Then Amber slowly removed her hand and the girls sat in silence, watching Victor.

He was grabbing glass vials, and throwing them at the wall. Various colored liquids were dripping and glass fragments were scattered everywhere. Victor gripped the edges of the table, breathing heavily.

"I will not do this anymore," he said aloud, voice shaky, "I will not!"

Victor sighed, straightening his shirt and huffing up chest. He looked over his mess, almost as if he was proud of his actions. Then he held his chin high and walked back upstairs, not evening glancing at the girls.

When he had finally left Amber whispered, "What was all that about?"

"No idea," Joy shrugged, "Victor is just crazy, that's all I know."

With that the two girls stood up, making their way to the table. They tread warily, careful not to step on any glass.

Joy brushed her fingers over the wall, "I hope we're right."

"Me too," the blonde agreed, but said more confidently, "But I think this is what we're supposed to do."

"Pour this on the wall?" Joy laughed, uncapping the lid.

"Well we should be doing that, but protecting Cleopatra's descendant is what we need to do. It feels like we're on the right path now."

Joy nodded, knowing exactly what Amber meant but not exactly sure how to express the thoughts into coherent words.

"Well here goes," Joy took a step closer to the wall, but a large chunk of glass was right where her foot went so she stumbled, causing the vial to fly out of her hands, shattering on the ground with all the others.

"No!" Joy shouted, kneeling on the ground and trying to furiously scoop up the liquid with her hands, but it was so thin that it just slipped through her fingers, "No no no! I ruined everything!"

Amber gasped, kneeling beside Joy, "We can fix this…"

"How?" Joy cried, hot tears of frustration running down her cheeks, "It's over! We're done! I dropped the stupid vial and now our journey has ended."

"Don't give up so quickly," Amber calmly grabbed one of Victor's vials, only broken near the top but for the most part whole, "There's always another way."

Amber ran the vial along the ground, tipping it up to scrape up the green liquid.

Joy furiously wiped away her tears, cupping the liquid with her hands, making sure none spilled.

The girls dumped the liquid they had gathered on the wall. For a moment nothing happened and Joy bit back tears, thinking that she was the reason that they couldn't protect the descendant. But to her relief the liquid trickled down the wall, and a message was revealed.

_In the mask's maze one last tunnel lies_

_Only opened with the Osirian's Ring, lost to the sands of time_

Amber squealed in happiness and Joy laughed shakily, taking a picture of the message with her phone to show the others.

"We should get rid of this," Joy smeared her hand across the wall, smudging the writing. She stared at her stained hand and clenched her fist, feeling ashamed, "Sorry for freaking out there Amber…"

Amber smiled sympathetically, "It's okay, everybody's had a moment like that, especially in Sibuna."

Joy breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away the green on the wall, "We've made a mess, don't you think Victor will be suspicious?"

"Nah, he'll probably just think that he made it," Amber grinned, "At his age, what 100 something? Yeah well at his age he's probably pretty forgetful."

Joy giggled, "Thanks Amber."

"I live to serve," Amber bowed.

"Humble as ever."

* * *

When the girls got back into the living room, everybody was absorbed in the third movie, _A Christmas Story._ So absorbed that they did not realize that Amber and Joy had left and were already back. Alfie cocked his head at Amber, who shrugged, mouthing to the word _Sibuna_. He grinned and leaned back as Amber snuggled into his chest. Joy slipped beside Mick, who was munching on popcorn, huge handfuls at a time. She laughed soundlessly, and made herself comfortable, giving Nina a thumbs up before returning to watch the movie.

After _Christmas Vacation, Jingle Bells, _and _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer _everybody was growing restless. Mara observed this and clapped her hands once the last movie was over, "Okay that's a wrap on our movie marathon! Thanks for indulging in my Christmasey needs!"

The kids of Anubis house all stood up, stretching and yawning.

"Were you there the whole time?" Mick asked Joy, a look of confusion crossing his face.

"Of course I was, silly," she flashed him a smile.

"Alright then," he bit his lip, toe digging into the floor, "Okay I have a strange idea that I think might help me get over Mara."

"Do tell," she grinned, grabbing the giant bowl and throwing away the kernels.

"What if I got rid of everything that reminded me of her?"

She frowned, placing the empty bowl in the sink, "I'm not sure about that. Don't you want to look back someday and remember all the good times you guys had?"

"Well yeah, but there are just some things that make me sad now. I'll keep a few things, like pictures and dumb gifts, but other than that I want to not constantly be reminded of her."

Joy pursed her lips, "Why would you have things with you that were Mara related? It's not like your room is here decorated with Mara all over it."

Mick blushed slightly, "I brought a lot of the stuff with Mars in it because er…I wanted to remind her how happy we had been together. Like pictures, letters, and such."

"Ah," her expression softened, "That makes sense. You know what? I think it's a good idea."

"You're a peach, Joy," he grinned and they walked together to the spare bedroom.

"Not a strawberry or a blueberry? Quite frankly I'm offended."

He laughed, "Sorry, I'll never accuse you of a being a fruit ever again."

"Glad you've learned your lesson."

On their way they ran across Nina, who grabbed Joy's arm and pulled her away from Mick.

"Wait you just can't…girls sometimes," he muttered, waiting impatiently as Joy showed Nina something on her phone. Nina whooped in excitement and they high fived, and then Nina rushed off.

"What was all that about?" he asked, opening the door for her.

"Oh nothing," she shrugged.

Joy entered into Mick's room and observed its simplicity, which was very Mick. One bed, covers in a tangled mess and an opened suitcase on the floor with various clothes spread everywhere. Last of all was an unzipped backpack. Nothing much but it suited the boy.

"Odd," she laid on his bed, sprawling out lazily, "I'm so used to the football trophies and signed sports equipment."

"Left that back in Australia," he sat down on the floor, pulling the backpack and suitcase closer to him.

"I never really asked, what's that special sports school like in Australia? Pretentious and elegant?"

He laughed, shrugging, "It's a pretty amazing school. But it's very different, considering lots of people there are spoiled rich kids."

"But they're not as good at football as you," she pointed out.

"You got that right," he grinned, but his smile faltered, "Sometimes a guy gets lonely there. Most everybody has known each other since primary school. It really makes me miss you guys."

"Oh don't be a baby, you're good at making friends," she nudged him playfully, "I bet they all say 'Oh look there's Mick! Strong, handsome Mick who is actually a cliché boyfriend in his spare time."

"Handsome?" he echoed, grinning.

"Don't flatter yourself, Campbell."

Mick laughed, "When did you get so sassy, Mercer?"

"I was born to be sassy," she placed her hands on her hips pompously, "I'm the sass master."

"Joy Mercer, Queen of Sass, it's fitting. But can you tone down the sass and get focused on the mission, geesh!"

"Sorry, sorry," she giggled, but calmed down, laughter subsiding, "Let's do this."

"Great," he opened his backpack and suitcase, pulling out many things and tossing them to the floor.

She slid onto her belly to reach the objects. One was a picture of him and Mara, kissing and not even looking at the camera. Another one was a ripped open letter addressed to Mick from Mara. There were tons of these and many others things.

Joy's eyes were wide, "And you kept _all _of this?"

Mick nodded, sifting through the massive pile, "Yeah."

"No wonder you want to get rid of some of it," she flipped through a stack of cheesy photographs, "Everywhere you look it's Mara!" she threw the pictures to the floor and stood up, "I'm going to get a sack for all the stuff you want to toss and a box for everything you want to keep."

She left and after a few minutes came back with a bag in one hand a box in another. Mick had already made a pile of things he wanted to put in the bin, "Okay throw these out."

Joy grabbed the stack and was about to throw them in when he shouted, "Wait! No let me check one more time…"

But she just shook her head and threw them in anyways, "Don't be wishy-washy!"

He chuckled, "Okay boss, whatever you say."

For a few hours they finally had sorted _everything_. The sack was practically bursting with old keepsakes. The box labeled, _Mick and Mara_, had a neatly organized stack of items, such as a few precious photos, some silly but romantic letters, gifts from Mara, and last of all a colorful bracelet.

"What's that?" Joy pointed to the bracelet.

Wasn't she there when that happened? Mick quickly remembered that Joy had been absent for that, "Well when Amber and I were still dating I got her that as a present. But since I'm really stupid I gave another one just like it to Mara because she helped me to study for a test. Basically it caused a lot of trouble but it's kind of what brought Mara and I together," he smiled, "Good luck from bad luck."

"That's sweet, but it also proves that you're not the brightest."

Mick laughed, "That's what Fabian said! Well at least I'm good at sports."

Joy nodded, "Or else you'd be hopeless!" she tied the bag with all of the stuff to toss.

Placing the lid on the box of stuff to keep, Mick gently placed it in his suitcase, "You're a real lifesaver, ya know?"

"Yeah?" she grinned, "And how's that?"

"You've helped me with all of this…getting over Mara and such. I feel so dumb."

"You shouldn't, being in love isn't dumb. It's just human."

"But being in love with the wrong person is dumb."

"That's true, but we can't help falling in love with the wrong person," she shrugged, "It's in our nature to want what we can't have."

"That's what I like about you," he picked up the sack, "You know exactly what I'm going through."

Joy laughed lightly, "We never really knew each other before, but I guess this sort of brought us together," she paused, but quickly added, "As friends."

At that moment Mick realized something. It would take him a while to understand this realization but for now, all he knew was that he hated hearing her say the word _friends_. Deep in his heart, he fervently wished that she had left out the word, or possible replaced it with a different word. Mick felt something that he had not wanted to feel, or known that he could ever feel again. All of this time he had been doing this and didn't even know how strong the feeling was. The feeling, that burning desire to be with her, not as just friends, but as much, much more.

He agreed with her and they excitedly set out for the disposing of the sack. Mick thought they were merely going to toss it in the trash, but oh no she had something much more exciting in mind. She told him to grab a few matches and his coat. They took a walk into the woods and lit a fire, tossing all of the old memories into the flames.

"It's so cold I can see my breath!" he cried, rubbing his shoulders.

"Don't be a wuss!" she cried, laughing as she grabbed his hand and dancing around the fire, shouting, "Mick is over Mara!"

And as Mick watched her dance around the fire, laughing and shouting, he knew, undoubtedly that he, Mick Campbell, was falling for Joy Mercer. Never once in a million years had he imagined this happening, but here it was. There was a certain way that one went about falling for someone, sighing as they walked past, staring longingly and such. But he was falling for Joy Mercer in a way that didn't make his heart ache, like it had for Mara, but in a way that made him feel light and free. She looked at him curiously, so he just kept dancing around with her.

_I like Joy Mercer, _he thought, _I actually, properly, truly like Joy Mercer._

_And she might just like me back_.

Sometimes people were stupid when they were in love.

But Mick Campbell wasn't being stupid at all.

Because Joy, who watched the fire and excitement dance in his blue eyes, also had a particular thought cross her mind as they celebrated.

_And he might just like me back._

* * *

"Does Nina assign partners like this just to teach me a lesson? Because I've learned my lesson, you can go back now."

"She probably paired you up with me so you'd _actually _get some research done."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well if you were here with Patricia you two would be doing a totally different type of r_esearching_."

"Ha! You are such a hypocrite, last time you and Nina were in the library together you did a little _research _yourselves."

"I think we're allowed to do that, considering the fact that this is the third time we've done this."

"You're a despicable human being."

"What can I say? You bring out the worst in me."

Eddie and Fabian were in the library, researching about the Osirian's ring as per Nina's request. So far they had found only useless information.

Fabian sighed resignedly, "There really isn't much information in here about the Osirian."

"The only person that I can think of that knows anything is my dad, but he won't tell me a thing," bitterness crept into Eddie's tone.

Fabian felt a touch of sympathy for him, "Maybe one day it'll make more sense."

"Fat chance, Nina doesn't even know that much about this whole Chosen One thing, and she's been at this for longer than I have. Does she even know what happened to her parents, or is it even connected at all?"

Fabian shrugged, "I think they died in a car crash, but that might not be true. Nina doesn't like to talk about it, though I don't think she really knew them or much about what happened to them. The whole thing just reminds me of Harry Potter."

Eddie groaned, "And yet Patricia complains that _Americans _overuse Harry Potter references."

"Patricia complains about everything," Fabian pointed out.

"True enough," Eddie nodded, "But what _do _you know about Nina being the Chosen One?"

"Well," Fabian tried to remember, "Not much. She was born on July 7th at 7 am, which apparently means something special. She can use her Eye of Horus locket to open special things."

"Eye of Horus locket?" Eddie looked bewildered, "What are you talking about!"

"It's this necklace thing that Sarah, you know the old lady that was also the Chosen One?" Eddie nodded; Nina had filled him in about a few things, "She gave it to Nina, I think that only the Chosen Ones can make it work. When we were finding the Cup last year we used it all the time. But for the mask not so much."

"Does it still work?"

"No idea. It usually glows when it can open something and it opened once last term, when Nina was trying to store the cup. Then Senkhara came and we haven't used it since."

"Hey," Eddie snapped his fingers, "Maybe this ring is the same thing, sort of? Like it might only work for me?"

Fabian nodded comprehendingly, "That's not a bad idea! Wait, maybe this can help us find it! Okay so Nina was descended from a person called Amneris, who I think was the first Chosen One. And if we put that into consideration, the necklace is probably originally hers."

"Yes!" Eddie cried, "As far as I know I'm descended from Osiris, given the fact that I'm called the Osirian. So let's research about Osiris and see if he had any rings!"

Fabian searched through the selves, gathering every book containing Osiris in the title. He came back and dumped a massive stack of books on the table where he and Eddie were sitting, "We might actually get something done."

"Never doubt my massive intellect," Eddie tsked.

"And by massive do you mean miniscule?"

"You're worse than Yacker."

So for a few hours Eddie and Fabian scanned through the books, furiously searching for any mention of a ring.

Somehow, throughout 8 books about Osirian the word ring had not even appeared. At this point Fabian and Eddie had grown extremely impatient, bickering whenever either of them opened their mouths.

"This is useless," muttered Eddie, slamming his book shut.

"Statistically we should have at least found _something _worthwhile by now," Fabian said, slumping in his chair.

"Well we haven't so let's just get out of here," Eddie stood up to leave but his knees wobbled slightly. He gripped the chair, pale and sweating.

"What's wrong?" Fabian rushed to Eddie, struggling to set him upright.

"I feel like absolute crap," Eddie was panting now, "I was just-" but he didn't finish his sentence. Eddie's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his knees buckled. Fabian attempted to support the weight of the unconscious boy but despite his efforts, Eddie collapsed to the ground.

* * *

_One night, when Isis was tending to Horus Set was hunting. The sky was a deep blue, the wind fierce and brutal, causing the sand to fly. Set felt something underneath his toe in the sand. Kneeling down, he began to dig. Eventually he realized that this was Osiris. Infuriated, he tore the dead body into fourteen pieces, each piece hidden in locations that only he knew. The last part was the finger, which had a green ring with eye of Horus on it, symbolizing his son. Set yanked the finger off the ring and cast it into the sand._

_A merchant man walked along the boiling hot desert, billions of years later. He rode a camel that held all of his supplies and trinkets to sell. Today he was making an hourglass, and he was told the most beautiful sand could be found here. He slowed his camel and stepped down from it, gathering the empty hourglass. He sat down in the sand, opening the lid and scooping sand into it. The man thought he heard a clinking sound, but thought no more of it. Putting the lid back on, he mounted his camel and made the rest of the journey back into the city. There he set up shop, but no customers came. Finally, just as the sun was setting, making a reddish orange sky, a man and a woman came by. Their hands were filthy and their clothes were streaked with sand._

"_We promised her we would get her a treasure from our trip," the woman said, eyeing the merchant's shop._

"_Indeed we did. What shall we get her?"_

_The merchant walked over to the couple, "I couldn't help but overhear that you two needed a gift for someone," he gestured to his shop, "See anything that catches your eye?"_

_The man smiled, "What will she like best, Louisa?" the two walked over to the shop and expected the items._

_The two sifted through a few things, but could not decide on anything._

"_How about this?" the merchant grabbed the new hourglass out of his bag, "I made this just today."_

_The man held it up for the two to see. At first they seemed hesitant but the woman nodded, "She'll love it."_

"_Robert! Louisa! Let's go!" a voice called to the two._

"_That'll be Howard, we must leave soon," the man said, and the two hurriedly paid for the object and thanked the man._

_He watched them join a large group, all with hats and tools, some leading camels will massive objects on them. The two waved at the merchant, who waved back and watched them disappear into the sunset._

* * *

"Eddie you've got to wake up!"

"Is this some sort of joke? Because it's not funny!"

"Eddie!"

Eddie's eyes slowly opened. He felt dazed, as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His head pounded and he felt utterly exhausted.

"You're awake," Eddie looked up and saw a worried Fabian standing above him.

"What happened?"

"Well you were talking and all of a sudden you fainted," Fabian helped Eddie up, "You were out for about 15 minutes."

"I don't know what happened," Eddie held his hands to his forehead, "But all I know is that I have a horrible headache."

"You were mumbling, mostly incoherent words and such, nothing I could make out."

"Lovely," suddenly, the vision he had seen came flooding back to him, "No wait! I dreamt something…" Eddie explained what he had just seen to Fabian.

Fabian listened intently, occasionally nodding. When the other boy was finished he said, "So Robert and Louisa Frobisher Smythe bought that hourglass for someone, which contained the Osirian's Ring."

Eddie nodded, "I think that someone was that lady you told me about, Sarah?"

"You're probably right, but where would she have put the hourglass?"

Eddie shrugged, "I didn't see Sarah receiving the gift or putting it anywhere, but we might as well look around the house."

Fabian agreed, collecting the books to put them away, "Man that Robert Frobisher Smythe is clever. What with the _sands of time thing _and all."

"Clever but a lunatic," Eddie pointed out.

When they got back to the house, they were about to go search the cellar when they heard a loud thump and the sound of Amber shrieking. Fabian and Eddie shared a stressed glance, before quickly going into the girl's room.

There they found Amber standing in horror over Nina who was slumped on the bed, with her eyes closed and faintly breathing.

Fabian dashed over to her and checked for a pulse.

"She's alive," he muttered, taking a breath of relief.

"What is happening?" Amber shouted.

"Amber shush!" Fabian hissed, "This happened to Eddie not long ago. She'll be fine…"

And he was right, after a few minute's Nina's eyes fluttered open and Fabian was kneeling beside her.

"Ah you're awake," Fabian smiled down at his dazed looking girlfriend.

"Awake? I was asleep?" Nina sat up straight, "Oh my gosh. I think I just had some sort of-"

"Vision," Eddie finished, "It had to do with Sarah, didn't it?"

Nina nodded, cocking her head to the side in a bewildered manner, "Yes. Her parents had come home and they were giving her a gift…it was an hourglass."

"Did you see her put it anywhere?" Eddie asked.

She shook her head, "No."

Amber sharply in took a breath, and everyone looked at her, "Nina, didn't Sarah give you a box of her old things when she died?"

"She did!" Nina cried, hopping off the bed and crouching to the floor, sticking her hand under her bed. She pulled out a box and opened the lid, rummaging through the contents.

"There it is!" Eddie seized the hourglass and looked it over, "This is definitely the one from my dream…"

"Break it," Nina said, "Break it open and we'll have the Osirian's ring."

Eddie slammed the hourglass to the ground and the glass shattered into a million pieces, causing Amber to jump. He bent down and sifted through the sand and glass, and when his fingers came across a hard objected he picked it up. Trembling slightly, he wiped away the sand and held it up for all to view. It was a soft shade of green, with the Eye of Horus symbol engraved in the middle.

"The connected ones?" Amber said, "I'll say. That's just like Nina's locket but…greener."

Nodding, Nina pulled down her shirt and yanked out the locket. Fabian saw the amulet he had given her for Christmas and his heart swelled with affection for her. But Amber was right, they were exactly alike.

"Put it on," Nina urged.

"What's going to happen?" Eddie arched an eyebrow, "Is the ceiling going to shatter? Am I going to become all knowing?"

"We'll never know unless you put it on," Nina said impatiently.

Eddie gulped, nodding. So he slowly slid the ring onto his finger. It glowed a vivid green color and suddenly Eddie's eyes were a blazing green. He let out a gasp and crumpled to the floor. The others watched helplessly as he writhed in pain, groaning and trembling. As he held up a shaking hand Nina heard a loud, commanding voice in her head.

_Take the ring off._

Nina dropped to the ground and pried it off of his finger. Breathing hard, he slowly stood up and his eyes returned to their normal shade.

"What was _that_!?" he demanded of Nina.

Nina also stood up, "It was trying to show you something."

"Well that was a pretty _awfu_l way to do that!" he said, voice rising.

She sighed, "Eddie you chose this, and now you have to accept the consequences of being an Osirian."

"I didn't _choose_ this!" he shouted, "I was _chosen_! Well guess what? I don't _want_ to do this! And what were we even chosen for? Chosen to lead? Chosen to suffer? Chosen to _die_?" he knew that the words would sting Nina but he didn't care at this point.

She winced, but stood her ground, "This is who you are!"

"Then I don't want to be me!"

"That's not your choice!" she growled, uncurling her hand which contained his ring, "Try one more time," she said, softer this time as she inched her hand closer to his, "Please, just _try_."

"I _won't_!" yelled Eddie, slapping the ring out of her hand, causing it to clatter on the floor.

Nina gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, "You can't just _run away_ from your problems!"

Eddie let out a fatigued sigh and lowered his voice, "I just can't do this anymore."

Nina's expression softened, "I'm here for you," she said soothingly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I know exactly what you're going through."

Fabian watched this, feeling slightly envious of the gentle way she had touched him.

But Eddie just jerked away from her, turning around to depart from the room, leaving Nina, Fabian, and Amber in his wake feeling quite speechless.

Nina was about to follow him, but Fabian stopped her, "He needs time."

She just shook her head, "We don't have time."

* * *

On his way out, Eddie brushed past Joy.

"What's the rush?"

"Get out of the way," he snarled.

"No need to be a grouch," she muttered, "Do you want to talk-"

"I don't have time for this," he shoved past her.

"You know what?" she called after him, shaking her fist, "Sometimes you can be a real prat!"

However, he ignored her and continued walking.

"I hate boys," she grumbled.

* * *

Eddie collapsed, impossibly exhausted and incredibly tired of everything Sibuna.

Amber's cat, Mr. Black Toes, who had been napping underneath the Christmas tree stretched its legs and emerged, rubbing Eddie's legs and purring.

"Being the Osirian sucks," he complained to the animal, "It's so much work. Want to trade places?"

The kitten hissed back in response.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Talking to cats now, are we?"

Eddie looked up to see Patricia standing over him, holding a plate of pancakes.

She sat down beside him on the couch and handed him the plate, along with a fork.

"What's this for Yacker?" he asked curiously, taking the items happily.

"You seemed…_stressed_," she replied awkwardly.

He raised an eyebrow, "To put it lightly."

Patricia swallowed, "Joy told me you were behaving rather rudely to her and Amber told me you were fighting with Nina. So I reckoned that I ought to do something about it."

He had begun to take a bite but his mouth dropped open, "Is this your attempt to be a nice girlfriend?"

Patricia blushed, "If you want I can take them away and shout abuse at you or something."

"No need for that," he jerked the plate closer to him, "I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Well," Patricia absentmindedly twirled a piece of hair around her finger, "It's just that ever since this whole descendant business started I've noticed that you haven't been handling it very well."

Eddie scoffed, "I'm handling it fine _thank you very much_-"

"Don't lie," Patricia cut him off, "Nina was the same when she first started, nearly quitting a few times along the way."

"I can't imagine why," he mumbled, taking a bite of the pancake stack.

"But she never quit, no matter how hard it got."

"I'm just not sure about anything anymore," Eddie put his head in his hands, setting the plate aside, "Apparently I am some sort of chosen something or other. I don't even know what I'm doing."

Patricia awkwardly patted his shoulder, "Nobody does."

He jerked up, "But that's the problem. I'm supposed to know what I'm doing! I'm supposed to have powers? Sometimes I don't think so…"

"Hey," Patricia said, raising her voice, "Nina believes in you. Sibuna believes in you. _I believe in you_."

"I feel _so _much better now."

"I'm doing my best," Patricia snapped, "I'm not used to being the caring girlfriend type, but I'm trying to tell you that you can do this."

"I don't-"

"Shut up. Sorry but you just need to shut up. If you keep saying things like this to yourself then you _will _become a failure. I won't have that, yeah?"

Eddie gave her a small smile, "I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."

"Glad we have the same priorities," she grinned.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but, thanks, Yacker."

"Don't expect this to happen on a regular basis," she pointed a stern finger at him, "I'm new to all of this coupley stuff."

"Not too bad at it though," he commented, shoving more bites of pancake into his mouth, "I know how you can really make me feel better."

"How?"

"You could always _distract _me," Eddie smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Patricia was tempted to roll her eyes, but she scooted closer to him, "That's want you want?"

Eddie nodded and Patricia felt a wave of ferocity come over her so she grabbed him and began kissing him. As they kissed, Eddie broke into laughter.

"What's so funny you fruitloop?" she demanded, untangling herself from him, "Does my kissing make you laugh?"

Chuckling, he leaned into her and whispered, "I can't believe we're doing this like it's a normal thing."

"But it's not normal, somehow I manage to be _clumsy _at kissing."

"Clumsy?" Eddie scoffed, "Nah you're a natural."

"What an accomplishment," she mumbled.

Smiling, he kissed her once again, "Your kissing nearly makes me forget what I was mad about."

She shoved him and stood up, "Go apologize to Nina."

"I don't wanna," he made a pouting face, "One last kiss?"

Patricia bent down, nearly no space between their lips and spoke quietly, "Not until you apologize."

Groaning, Eddie stood up and held his hands up in defeat, "You really know how to control a guy, don't you, Yacker?"

"It's my specialty."

* * *

Fabian was pacing outside Nina's room, waiting for Nina and Eddie to stop talking.

Joy, who crossed her arms scolded him, "You're just being paranoid!"

"I'm not being paranoid!" he cried defensively, "I'm just waiting for her."

Joy laughed, "_Sure. _Worried that he'll just grab her and they'll begin to feverishly kiss?"

Fabian shook his head, disregarding the pounding in his heart that wanted to scream _Yes _to Joy's question, "I told you, I'm just waiting for you."

"You're pacing," she pointed out, "Fabian Rutter isn't…_jealous _is he?"

He scowled, "Of course not."

"Oh don't worry," she assured him, grinning, "It's not like Eddie is her fellow American with lots of muscles, is by definition a bad boy, and has a connection with her."

"Joy!" he cried exasperatedly.

"Only kidding."

Just then, Nina and Eddie came out. After hugging Nina, Eddie left to go get that kiss from Patricia.

"We've got our Osirian back," she smiled, holding his hand.

"I'm glad," he said, though he didn't really mean it.

* * *

**Chapter 7 wohoo! I cannot wait until Friday, so surviving this last week is going to be hard! Thanks for all of your support guys. Just going to ask for 5 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER (and guys if it reaches 5 reviews, KEEP REVIEWING ANYWAY!). Reviews are to me as eternal life is to Victor.**


	8. A Lotus for Your Thoughts

**December 18: A Lotus for Your Thoughts**

Joy, Eddie, and Patricia were squished on the couch in the study before the tunnels. The sun had not even risen, yet they were up and about looking for the next clue. Eddie wore his ring because it was not so overwhelming now, no visions or voices in his head. Currently the three were procrastinating, feeling too lazy to go into the tunnels.

"I don't recall agreeing to this when I joined Sibuna," Joy yawned.

"What? You guys thought that Sibuna was all fun and games?" Patricia scoffed, "Hah!"

Eddie's stomach growled, "Nobody told me that it involved getting up painfully early and skipping breakfast."

"Don't be a baby," she teased, but began to pull something out of her pocket, "But since you _are _a baby, I got you a little breakfast," Patricia handed him a granola bar.

He eagerly grabbed it and started to wolf it down, "You know me so well!"

"A little too well, perhaps?"

"You guys are disgusting," Joy remarked, wrinkling her noise, "I mean _come on. _Quite the act! Everyone knows that you two pretend to _hate _cliché coupley things but you secretly love them."

"Nah, we despise being cute. Right, dearest Eddison?"

"So true. Now let's passionately make out and ride into the sunset," Eddie grabbed Patricia, placed her on his back, galloping around the room.

"I knew it!" Joy yelled, giggling, "I've exposed your true desires!"

"Wait a second, I know why she's so obsessed with our love life," Eddie shook his head mournfully, "Joy just isn't feeling _the love. _Do you need a kiss?"

"Don't you dare!" she cried, shoving his face away from hers, "Save your kisses for the redhead."

"Oh alright," he lightly kissed Patricia, "But don't hesitate to give me a call if your lips are feeling a little…_chapped."_

Patricia giggled uncharacteristically, "_Chapped? _Did you really just say that?"

"I sure did. But no, I've got great chapstick, even ask Yacker!"

"Oh my gosh," she was now doubled over in laughter, "He does, he so does. It's _cherry ice_."

Joy was laughing so hard that she was hiccupping, "No way, you _have _to be making that up!"

Tears of laughter came out of Eddie's eyes as he dug the chapstick out of his pocket, showing it to Joy, "It provides a _delicious cooling sensation_."

Now the three of them were clutching their sides, thunderously guffawing.

Finally, after a few minutes they all wiped their tears and regained their composure.

"We better start before we wake up the rest of the house with our laughter," Patricia remarked, taking a deep breath and standing up.

The other two Sibunas stood up as well and left the study to enter into the tunnels. Momentarily, Patricia worried that they would be blinded by the beacon of light but it didn't even scan over them. They got to the space before what had been for the first task and searched.

"See anything yet?" Patricia called out to her friends.

"Yes!" Joy replied back.

Grinning, Patricia followed the sound of the other girl's voice, and soon met up with her and Eddie. Joy pointed to an oval shaped indent in the wall, exactly the size of Eddie's ring.

"Are we sure that this is-" Eddie began to ask, but the hole in the wall and his ring glowed a bright green.

"Pretty sure," Joy said.

Eddie held his hand up to the hole, and pushed his ring into it. The wall creaked, and slowly rose up, rocks and dirt falling as it did. The three peered down what seemed to be an endless dark path.

"Great," he rubbed his hands together, "Who wants to go first?"

"Don't bother," Patricia said to the very worried looking Joy, "I'll go."

She slowly walked into the tunnel, making sure each step was steady and precise.

"Be safe, Yacker," Eddie said.

"Don't you worry about me," she snorted, "I'll be the brave girlfriend and you be the damsel in distress."

"Glad we've got that sorted out."

Laughing, Patricia continued walking, feeling a little more confident that nothing was going to happen. The lighting was dim, but all she could make out was bare walls.

She heard a rumbling sound, and the entire room began to shake. Gripping the walls for support, she turned around to see the entrance quickly and loudly bang shut.

Grimacing, she raced towards the entrance and pounded on the door with her fists, but it wouldn't budge.

"Patricia, are you okay?" Joy asked, voice muffled.

"I'm fine, yeah," Patricia pressed her head against the wall to hear better, "Not hurt or anything."

She chuckled, listening to Eddie sigh in relief, "But there's no way I can't get it open."

On the other side she heard grunting, assuming that Joy and Eddie were trying to pry it open.

"No luck on this end either!" Eddie cried.

"Have you got a torch or a mobile?" inquired Joy.

Patricia cursed herself for not bringing either of these, "No! But I'll be fine. Just let me explore for a bit, and I'll holler if anything goes wrong."

"I'm not sure-" Eddie began, sounding very hesitant.

"Quit your worrying," Patricia commanded, "There's only a wall between us. Not like anybody could be hiding in here, or else that'd be just bones."

"Okay, just be careful!"

Patricia, nodded even though he couldn't see it. Turning around, she fully realized her situation. It was _pitch dark_. So dark, that she couldn't even see her hands. But she wasn't afraid of the dark so she stumbled along the path, feeling the walls to guide her way.

After a minute or so of this, she muttered, "Okay this is useless," but kept on going, because there was no way back at this point.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, her foot wobbled and she pressed her hands against the barriers for support. Patricia knew that she was over a ledge. With her other foot she found a few pebbles and kicked him, sending them sailing down the chasm. She listened for what seemed like eternity, but she heard no indicator that they had reached a bottom. Oh gosh, she thought. I could have fallen down there and nobody would have found me.

There was a sound of opening and a hole on the ceiling slid down, revealing a bright red light. Squinting, Patricia watched as it shone right at her. The beam of light shot right at her hand and she fell backwards, thudding on the ground. She tried to stifle a scream, but she let out a short yelp as it burned her hand.

A voice could be heard, one that Patricia could recognize as a recording of Robert Frobisher Smythe,

"_To guide you through this tunnel, you'll need a light_

_Only the Silver Amulet of Anubis will make darkness bright_

_The next clue is found only through a fall_

_But only with no marks can you answer the call_

_The desire, the burning to solve what is next_

_Hurry, dear children, for there is no time to rest."_

Patricia tried to ignore the fact that her hand felt like it was on fire and instead, tried memorizing the riddle. After repeating it to herself a few times she locked it in her mind.

After hearing muffled shouts calling her name, she ran back towards the entrance.

"Patricia are you okay?!" they both cried desparately.

She panted, leaning her burned hand against the cool wall, but to her surprise it slowly rose up, "I'm-"

Eddie was the first to see her and he grabbed her in a bear hug, "You had me worried there, Yacker."

"Worried about me? I'm as tough as nails!"

"At least she likes to _think_ that she's as tough as nails," Joy started to chuckle but glanced at Patricia hand, "What is this?"

Patricia let go of Eddie and looked at her hand in the light. An Eye of Horus symbol was burned onto her hand, "Oh," she blinked.

"_Oh_ indeed," Eddie said, "What happened in there?"

After Patricia told them about the chasm and the riddle, Joy shivered, "We need to _jump_ down a pit in order to solve the riddle?"

"Afraid so."

Eddie delicately examined Patricia hand, "Does it hurt?" he brushed his fingers along the red lines.

"Not really," she lied, wrenching her hand away, "But I don't think it's permanent. Last year there was a different beam of lights in the tunnels that blinded you, but it only lasted a day."

"So where do we find this silver amulet of Anubis?" Joy inquired.

Patricia shrugged, "To get into the tunnels last year we needed to wear amulets, but they were all made of clay, not silver."

"Where did you guys get these amulets?" Eddie said, as they all left the tunnels and went back to the study.

"Nina, Fabian, and Amber already had them," Patricia answered.

Eddie sunk onto the couch in the study again, "Well then let's ask them…after a nap," he closed his eyes.

Patricia yawned and Joy groaned, "Oh fine, I'll go do it." Scowling, she left the study.

Walking over to the couch, Patricia slid Eddie over and lay on the couch, careful not to use her burned hand too much.

He popped one eye open, "Wanna cuddle?"

"Touch me and you're dead."

"You're about as loveable as a porcupine."

* * *

Joy left the cellar, still in her pajamas, and saw Mara on the couch with a piece of paper in her hand.

"What's that?" she asked brightly, sitting next to her friend.

Mara eagerly showed her the paper, which was a letter, "It's a Christmas card from Jerome!"

"Go on, open it!"

"Okay," Mara opened the letter and pulled out the contents. It contained two pictures and a card. The first picture was of Jerome, Poppy, and his dad sledding down a massive hill. They cheeks were rosy and their joy was clear to see. Next, the second one was a picture of the three Clarkes drinking hot cocoa, each with a chocolatey moustache.

"They must be having a wonderful Christmas," Mara beamed at the letter, as if it was Jerome himself, "I'm so glad."

"Mara Jaffray- fixing families since last week," Joy teased, poking her friend, "Now read the card!"

It was a Christmas card, the kind with a picture on the front and the letter part on the inside. The front had another picture of the Clarkes, completely tied up with colorful Christmas lights, in front of the Christmas tree. The title read _The Most Colorful Time of the Year. _Giggling, the two girls opened the card and saw Jerome's scrawled writing.

_You all looked spiffing in those ugly jumpers. We searched and searched, but there were none as ugly as yours. All we found was a bunch of fairy lights, so this is what you get. We've had tons of fun, Jaffray, we really have. Sledding, snowman making (though not quite as good as our Jerome and Victor ones), snowball fights, decorating, and lots of eating. Dad's even bought a turkey for Christmas day. It's the best Clarke Christmas ever, thanks to you Jaffray! Hope you're all having a fun holiday being stuck at school, which I still can't believe you chose to do. Either way have a happy Christmas and see you next year!_

_-Jerome_

"What a sweet boyfriend," Joy laughed, "You two really are something."

Mara grinned, "Thanks Joy. Okay I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Are you and…" Mara bit her lip, "Mick dating or anything?"

Joy raised an eyebrow, "Please don't tell me you're jealous."

Shaking her head, Mara smiled crookedly, "I'm not, I actually just want Mick to move on."

"I'm trying to help him move on," Joy confessed, "But _no _we are not stepping out or anything, we are just hanging out."

Mara laughed, "That's what they all say."

"Goodbye Mara!"

"Wait don't leave!"

"You don't deserve my company," Joy giggled, standing up and heading to Fabian's room, "How could you accuse me of such a thing?"

"You're always together!" Mara cried.

"Friends tend to do that!"

"I don't believe you!"

"_Goodbye _Mara!"

Laughing to herself, Joy walked to Fabian's room and knocked on the door.

She heard a shuffling of feet and groaning.

After a moment he opened the door, looking groggy and bedraggled, "What is it Joy?"

"Where did you guys find the amulets for the tunnels?"

He rubbed his eyes, "In the study behind a picture."

"Thanks!" she smiled, turning her heel to skip away.

"Wait! That's the only reason why you woke me up?"

"Yup!"

"Why couldn't you have woken up Amber or Nina?"

"They need their beauty sleep," she winked, "Unlike you."

He laughed, "So charming. I'm going back to bed."

Fabian shut the door and she descended down the stairs and into the tunnel, vowing to tell Nina that she would prefer late night Sibuna things instead of early morning ones.

"Wake up!" she shouted to Patricia and Eddie.

Patricia jolted awake, "Ahh I'm up!" she snapped her fingers in front of Eddie's face, "Come on sleeping beauty!"

Eddie yawned and rolled over, refusing to get up. Patricia rolled her eyes and pushed him to the floor. Yelping, he stood up and rubbed his head.

"It's behind a picture," Joy said, making her way to a table, "And this seems to be the only table, so here goes nothing," she held her hand out to touch the picture frame and it fell to the floor.

Eddie and Patricia joined Joy, and they all peered at the wall behind the picture. But there was nothing, only impressions of where the amulets used to be.

"Hmmm," Eddie turned his head sideways and fingered the wall. Cement crumpled away and they could all make out the letter _I. _He kept brushing away the rock, and eventually there was an entire message.

_It lies among the lotuses._

Joy frowned, "Lotuses? Aren't those a type of flower?"

Patricia nodded, "And Frobisher Smythe expects us to find these in the _wintertime_?"

Sighing Eddie took a picture of the message with his phone, "I'll send this to Nina and we can figure it out later. Let's go to breakfast!"

"I'm going to bed."

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Sleep is essential-"

"Oh shut it!" Joy cried, scowling at the two, "Let's just get out of here. Can't you two go for two minutes without arguing?"

"If I don't breathe," Patricia answered and Eddie nodded.

Joy groaned and dragged her friends out of the study and back upstairs. Patricia went back to sleep, Eddie scooped a mountain of scrambled eggs onto his plate during breakfast, and Joy watched him, feeling less hungry by the second.

As Eddie squirted ketchup onto his eggs, Mick came in, happily eyeing the bacon.

"G'day mate," he told her, munching on bacon, "You're up pretty early."

"You have _no _idea," she moaned, tearing her toast to pieces, "But besides that, I have a new idea for today!"

"Yeah?" he spooned yogurt into a bowl, "A way for me to become happily single?"

She nodded, "My friend back home told me about it. So what you do is write down all of your thoughts about your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, and then you fold it up, stick it into a balloon, let it go, and watch all those painful thoughts float away!"

"That's brilliant," he commented, "You're an expert on this stuff, Joy!"

"Joy's Breakup Services for Dumped Teens, I could make a bit of money."

"You really could!" he cried with a mouthful of bacon.

* * *

Nina lay on her stomach in her bed, typing an email to Gran from her laptop, replying to Gran's previous email. Gran had said that she missed Nina, but was having a peaceful Christmas, playing cards with her friends and had bought her favorite ice cream, peppermint. Nina wrote that she was having fun with her friends too and assured that she was safe, there were no sightings of the murderer. And that she hoped that they'd get the mess figured out so she could be home before Christmas.

She looked up from her computer when she noticed Fabian entering in.

"Hey," she grinned, "Did you hear? Eddie, Patricia, and Joy found the next clue. So apparently we have to jump into a hole for the next riddle. But first we have to find the silver amulet of Anubis, which is with some lotuses? No idea about that, but still we're one step closer to saving the descendant!"

Fabian smiled, holding back a sigh at the mention of Eddie's name, "Good, good. But I want to talk about something else."

"Alright," she patted the empty space on the bed.

Fabian sat down and turned to his girlfriend, who didn't even have a clue that Fabian was feeling so bitterly jealous, but telling her would be stupid. He just wanted to stop feeling this way, and kiss away any trace of Eddie from her, and quit the mystery, but that's not how things worked.

"I think that we should do something tonight."

"Do something? That sounds ominous," she laughed.

"Er sorry," he corrected himself, "I think we should go on a date."

Nina frowned, "When?"

"Now?"

"Um well that kind of doesn't work."

"Oh?" he tried not to sound disappointed.

"Eddie and I are going through Robert Frobisher Smythe's journals to look for anything about the Osirian," she blurted out, feeling sorry that she hadn't thought of Fabian, "I mean, he just really wants to figure out who he is. I understand, because that's how I used to feel."

Fabian's heart dropped in his chest, "No that's fine," he muttered, "You do that."

She bit her lip, "Yeah, I better go get him so we can do that now," Nina tried to encouragingly smile at him, "Maybe later?"

He nodded and she gave him a quick kiss, "See you later!" she got up to leave but turned around quickly, "Oh yeah I almost forgot! Can you and Amber research lotuses sometime today?"

"No problem."

"You're the best!" she cried, dashing out the door and calling Eddie's name.

Fabian just blinked and sighed, almost feeling like he expected this.

Was he losing Nina to Eddie?

* * *

Mick was sitting on a chair in the living room, scribbling away a letter with all of his feelings and thoughts about Mara.

Joy was fiddling with the remote, flipping through the channels.

"Almost done yet?"

"You can't rush this sort of thing."

Mara came into the living room, holding the new iPad that her parents had sent for Christmas.

"Oh and here's Joy and Mick," she said.

"Oh how lovely to see their precious faces," a voice sneered.

Joy and Mick looked up to see Jerome's face in the device, smirking at them.

"Nice to see you too, Clarke," Mick muttered.

"It's kind of you to grace us with your presence," Joy turned the TV off, "Having a nice holiday?"

"Very nice yes," Jerome grinned mischievously, "I see that you're having a _nicer _holiday."

Joy arched an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well it looks like you and the Austr-" Jerome began but Mara turned her the volume down.

"Oops! Well let's say hi to everybody else, Jerome." Mara quickly raced into the kitchen, much to her boyfriend's dismay.

When Mara reached the kitchen she scolded Jerome, "What were you thinking?"

He laughed, "I tend to not do that. But either way, I was just going to ask if they were stepping out!"

Mara giggled, "They aren't, for now!"

"Oh gosh you sound like Amber."

"I can't help it, I think they would be really good together. And now they're always doing stuff together."

"I might as well just call you Mara Millington."

"You can't deny true love!"

"I've already lost you to that love crazed blonde," Jerome shook his head, pretending to tear up, "It's too late."

Just then Fabian walked into the kitchen, seeming a bit taken back by Jerome's face.

"Oi Rutter," he called, "Glad to see me? How are you and your girlfriend? Getting cozy over the holidays?"

Fabian rolled his eyes, "We're doing just fantastic."

"I'm so glad."

They heard someone call Jerome's name, most likely Poppy.

"I better go," Jerome grinned, "Catch you later, Jaffray?"

She nodded, blowing him a kiss, "Bye Jerome! Have fun!"

He dramatically caught her kiss and slipped it in his pocket, "Might need this later."

"You're sweet and weird," Mara laughed, "Bye!" She turned off the iPad and set it down on the table.

"Sometimes I cannot believe you two got together," Fabian said, but quickly corrected himself, "Not that you aren't good together!"

"No I understand, we're quite the odd duo."

"Mhmm,' Fabian mused, grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl.

"Are you okay?" Mara watched Fabian anxiously.

"I'm fine," he lied, peeling his fruit and not looking up.

But she shook her head, "I don't think you are. When Jerome mentioned Nina you started acting…off. Are things okay between you two?"

Biting his lip, Fabian considered confiding in her, but decided against it, "No, we're fine. But thanks for being concerned."

Mara felt an urge to hug him, so she did, "Just talk to me if you need anything."

He felt surprised by the hug, but gladly welcomed it, "I'll keep that in mind."

Pulling away from the hug, she smiled sadly, "We haven't really talked in a while, Fabian."

This was true, when was the last time he had a real conversation with Mara? For a moment, he almost felt regret for joining Sibuna, but cast that thought aside. With their adventures had come problems but they were worth it. Nina was worth it, "You're right. We've just been so caught up in everything else."

She nodded and her eyes lit up as she remembered something, "Remember that one time in Mr. Flemming's class when we had to write a book report on Wuthering Heights and he cried?"

Laughing, Fabian nodded, "That was so funny! He was sobbing because we wrote, 'a tear jerking paper that captures the very essence of the book'."

"He was so strange! But it _was _fun writing that with you."

"We made a pretty great duo."

"The power of two great minds."

Amber also walked into the kitchen, and Fabian remembered what Nina had told him.

"Amber! Hey we should _really _get to the library."

"We should?"

"You know, to _research _for our big project in that class? The one about _Cleopatra?_"

"Oh, yes!" Amber nodded understandingly, "We better get on that! Like _right now."_

Quickly standing up, Fabian regarded Mara with a smile, "It was nice talking to you, Mara."

Although she was perplexed she smiled back, "Yeah, same. What class is this?"

"Oh you know," Amber laughed, linking arms with Fabian, "That one class, taught by that…teacher."

"Okay?" Mara shook her head, exiting the kitchen, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine."

"I thought you were good at telling lies!"

"Sorry, Nina must've rubbed off on me!"

* * *

Mick and Joy were in the attic, sitting on the floor beside a helium machine that Trudy used for birthday parties.

"Alright, give me the paper," Joy commanded.

Mick obediently handed her his folded up paper.

She grabbed something an unused pink balloon out of her pocket and Mick looked skeptical.

"What? It's from leftover parties and such!"

"No, it's…pink."

"What's wrong with pink?"

"It's…pink."

Joy rolled her eyes, stuffing the paper into the balloon and filling it with helium, "Oh get over it." She attached a string to it and handed it to Mick.

Then the two took their balloon downstairs and to the front door.

Joy peeked out the door, "Hey it's not snowing!"

Mick grinned, and they headed outside. The sky was gray, not a stormy kind of gray but the sort of gray that made the air chilly and the wind rustle.

"So I just let go of it?" he questioned.

Joy nodded and Mick released the pink balloon into the sunset. They watched it disappear into the sky, the pink of the balloon looking almost poetically lonely against the gray.

"It symbolizes letting go of these painful feelings," Joy said, still looking up, "Do you feel any better?"

Mick breathed in and out methodically, "Yeah, I kinda do."

She looked at him and grinned, and Mick felt kind of silly because he liked looking at her eyes when she was happy, they were just so bright and animated.

But he looked away from her eyes and back up at the sky, and decided that pink and gray looked nice together.

He noticed how cute Joy looked today. She wore a pink long sleeved shirt, a gray scarf, and her hair was in a bun, curls falling down the sides of her head. She was like the sky, pink and gray.

"What are you so dressed up for?"

"I'm not dressed up," she blushed, not wanting to admit that she dressed up to impress him.

"Oh," he grinned crookedly, "Well I think that you look great."

"Thanks," she grinned back.

He realized that all of this was supposed to help him get over Mara, but the more time he spent with Joy, the more he decided that being with Joy made him forget about Mara. Sometimes he thought that once this was all over, maybe they could try it.

Only if she wanted to.

* * *

As usual, two Sibunas were in the library, pouring over books about Ancient Egypt.

This time it was Amber and Fabian, looking for anything about lotuses, learning interesting facts but nothing that would really help them.

"Well there are blue, white, and pink lotuses," Fabian said, "And they were a valued flower in Egypt."

"Egyptian homes had lotuses in them," recited Amber, "They were a symbol of re-birth, healing, and purity."

"The God Nefertum was associated with the blue lotus," read Fabian sleepily.

Amber groaned and shoved all the books aside, "I think we need a break," she resorted to playing with her hair.

Fabian nodded, "You're right, let's stop before I know every single fact know to man about lotuses in Egypt."

Sighing, Amber stacked all of the books and placed them in Fabian's lap, "What I don't get is how we know so much about lotuses, yet still don't have an answer for where the silver amulet is."

Wobbly, Fabian stood up and pushed the books back into their shelves, making a mental note to rearrange them when this all was done. Usually it would have been extremely difficult to try and use the library so much, but they had taken down the exhibit over the winter, and it would continue in the spring.

"Amber, can I ask you a…dating sort of question?" Fabian asked hesitantly as he sat down.

Amber squealed, "Yes! Ask away!"

"Do you think that…Eddie and Nina are spending a lot of time together?"

A sort of solemn silence sat between them.

"Well…I wouldn't say _a lot_."

"Yes you would," Fabian muttered.

"Okay yes I would, but you shouldn't worry," she smiled cheerily, "Neens _really _likes you."

"Really?" he felt a little more hopeful now.

The blonde nodded vigorously, "You two are dating, of course she likes you! When she isn't doing Sibuna things, she spends her free time talking about you or being with you!"

He grinned, "So you don't think Eddie will get in the way of our relationship?"

"Trust me on this," Amber said, examining her nails, "Now let's get back to the house, my polish is looking seriously chipped."

Laughing, Fabian stood up and the two walked back into the house. He duly noted the coolness in the air, but no snow or rain was supposed to come today. So they headed inside, Fabian feeling like he had the confidence to march right up to Nina and kiss her.

* * *

"Did you ever do this, when you liked Fabian?" Mick asked after a while.

She shook her head, "I wrote down what I felt but never put it into a balloon and let it fly away."

"Why didn't you do it?"

"Remember at the party you visited last year? Fabian and Nina had just kissed, and we were all secretly watching and then we hugged them?"

He nodded, remembering how he was happy for his friend but he felt sorry for himself because Mara had just kissed Jerome.

"Well when we hugged them I just felt like…I could be okay with them being together," she sighed wistfully, "It might've helped though."

"Do you still have the letter?"

Joy nodded, smiling now, "Do you think I should do it?"

"Definitely!"

"Okay will you get it for me? It's under my bed."

"No problem, Mercer," he dashed inside, grabbing a spare purple balloon from the party decorations box.

After going into her room, checking under the bed, and grabbing the letter Mick fought with himself on whether he should read it or not. She would understand, Joy had practically told him everything about what had happened.

And he was right, he thought as he read it, but still, the contents made him want to punch a wall.

The more he read about how Fabian and Nina were to Joy, the angrier he got. Mick clenched his fists, fuming over it. How could Fabian do this do her? He took a deep breath and carefully folded the letter. After slipping it into a purple balloon, he filled it with helium. Then he walked back outside to greet Joy and together they watched it float away. It was hard pretending to be fine, but he could do it for Joy. When they could no longer see it, Mick said goodbye and stomped into the house, searching for Fabian.

He was on the couch, reading through a book.

"Fabian?"

"Yes Mick?" he looked up from his book, acknowledging the other boy's presence.

"You do know how Joy felt about you last term?" Mick asked.

"Of course, but she's over it now," he shrugged.

"You still broke her heart!"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't make myself love her when I was crazy for Nina."

"Then why didn't you just tell her that? The way you acted gave her hope that wasn't real."

"I didn't want to hurt one of my best friends by crushing her heart."

"Sure, not telling her really spared her feelings. Slick move mate," there was a tinge of annoyance in Mick's voice.

"Why do you even care? I've apologized to her and now we're back on good terms," Fabian was having trouble understanding what was up with Mick.

"I just know how she felt; being on the cruel end of things, loving someone who might not love you back. It's not fair that you did that to her," Mick's voice was slowly rising to a shout.

"I'm sorry Mick, but what's done is done. Yes, what I did was horrible but she's forgiven me and you should too. I'm also sorry about Mara, but I think you can get over her."

Mick only stared angrily at Fabian.

"So buck up and get over her. And stop blaming me for acting like Mara. Life isn't always fair when it comes to love, and sometimes you have to look at it from every perspective."

"What do you mean by that?" Mick said incredulously.

"Mara must hate hurting you like this, I know that I hated the fact that I was hurting Joy."

"Gee, thanks for the great advice," Mick rolled his eyes.

"I'm only trying to help!" cried Fabian.

"Well maybe I don't want it anymore; I didn't realize how awful you were to Joy."

"Why are you so hung up on that Mick; how does it even affect you?"

"Because I know what Joy went through and I just can't respect someone who made her go through what I'm going through."

"Whatever Mick, I don't want to hear about it anymore." Fabian muttered.

"Good, because I didn't realize how much you've changed Fabian."

"Changed? You weren't even there when it happened! You don't know every detail of every story!"

"Silly me, I forgot to blame your stupid girlfriend, Nina."

"What has she got to do with it?!" Fabian demanded, standing up now to face Mick.

"Don't be stupid; she was probably even more terrible to Joy!"

"They didn't get along, so what?"

"Obviously Nina never told you how much of a-"

"How much of a what, Mick?"

"How much of a jerk she was to Joy."

"You've crossed the line Mick, don't bring Nina into this. All of us have talked about what happened and everybody seems to be over it but you, and you weren't even there!"

"Joy told me all of the mean looks she gave her and all of the horrible things she said to her."

"Maybe Joy was a little biased! Mick, I'm warning you, stop talking about Nina."

"Stop telling the truth, you mean?"

Fabian's hands were shaking with anger and his eyes were full of rage. He struggled to control his fury, and knew that if Mick said another word he would blow.

Mick could see the effect his taunting was having on Fabian. Everything that Joy had told him was coming back to him all at once. How Fabian, Nina, pretty much everyone here at Anubis had treated her. Last term she had been exiled for being normal and he was going to make someone pay for it. He didn't know where this anger was coming from, but he felt strongly about Joy, especially since that day when they got rid of Mick's things with Mara in them, and even though she had forgiven everybody else, he hadn't yet. It was time for Fabian to pay for what he did. Mick decided to cross a line.

"Fabian, your girlfriend is a bitch and you know it," Mick spat, grinning like a crazy man.

As soon as the words had left Mick's mouth all hell broke loose. Fabian yelled out what seemed to be like a jumble of vicious words and did something that was not like him at all.

He punched Mick in the face.

It all happened so fast. One minute Mick was sneering at Fabian, taking out his anger verbally on him, the next he was on the ground, in pain, with blood gushing from his nose. He had been taken by surprise by Fabian's actions. Usually, no matter how much you egged him on, Fabian kept his cool and controlled his emotions. Mick had also been surprise by Fabian's strength, he used to consider Fabian a weak person, but after the punch he had been taken aback by the force of it.

As soon as it was over, Fabian's face had drained of all of its color. His rage had vanished and began to immediately regret his actions.

"Mick are you okay?!" Fabian helped Mick up and sat him down in a chair.

"Fine, bank you bury much," Mick tilted his head back to stop the flow of blood.

"I'm sorry..I don't know what came over me."

"I insulbed your girlfrienb."

"I didn't have to punch you in the face," Fabian sighed, "I don't know what came over me."

Mick stared at Fabian with a puzzled expression, "Are you kibbing me? Of course you hab to pubch me in ba face."

Fabian laughed, "You had it coming."

"I bow."

And with that, the two were friends once again. The tension that had been between them all through the holiday had vanished, leaving them feeling lighter and happier than before.

"Mick what in the world happened to you?" cried a panicked voice.

The two boys looked up to see Trudy with her mouth gaping open.

"Mick!" Trudy rushed over to Mick and began to frantically check his pulse.

Joy, who had overheard the commotion, stopped by the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. When she spotted the blood on his face she sighed and began to wet a washcloth.

"Dearie, are you okay?"

"I'm fibe."

Joy started cleaning the blood off of his face and examined his injury, "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"Well erm..I," Fabian began guilty.

"Was just helbing me insibe. You see, we were blaying soccer," Mick cut Fabian off with a lie.

"In the kitchen?" Joy asked suspiciously.

"Outsibe! He kicked the ball and it hib my face – Honebly I'm fibe Truby – and then my nobe barted to bleed."

"Fabian is terrible at soccer," Joy pointed out.

"Exacbly why my nobe is bleeding."

"Mhhhhm," Fabian mumbled, he had quite suddenly found his fingernails remarkably interesting and began to study them.

"Well your nose doesn't seem to be broken, but you should probably lie down for a while sweetie," Trudy commented when she was sure Mick was fine.

"Thanks Trubes," Mick pressed the washcloth to his nose and sunk down onto the couch.

"You children will be the death of me!" Trudy laughed, walking out of the kitchen to attend to her other duties.

"So why'd you punch Mick, Fabian?" Joy asked as soon as she was sure Trudy had left.

Mick and Fabian both opened their mouths but Joy shook her head disapprovingly.

"How dib you," Mick began to ask bewilderedly but Joy cut him off.

"Why would Fabian, who's dreadful at soccer, be playing it outside in the winter with you?"

Fabian bit his lip, "I'm really terrible at lying."

"No kibbing," Mick agreed.

"So, why did you punch him?" demanded Joy.

"Erm," Fabian looked down at his shoes.

"The thing is…"

"Well?" Joy insisted, folding her arms and staring at the boys with an impatient expression.

"Mick was just being an idiot."

"So you just had to punch him in the face?"

"It's just a guy thing," Mick shrugged.

"Boys," Joy muttered, "You're _all _idiots."

* * *

_That same, reoccurring dream, that has always been there._

_These plaguing nightmares, always the same but when awoken, they were only half-remembered._

_But they were becoming stronger, easier to remember, darker._

_Such strange things to dream of._

_Flashes of gold._

_A crown._

_A brightly colored bracelet._

_What do they mean?_

_And then there's that man._

_The man with the knife._

_He was always there, in the background, wielding the knife._

_But lately he had been closer, towering above with that sharp knife._

_Something in his hand, it looks like a glass bottle._

_Sleeping is exhausting now, that same word burning._

_Descendant._

* * *

**Hooray here it is! Today I actually updated this at a decent time! So that last part is the descendant having a dream. Who do you guys think the descendant is? Review with your guesses! And tell me what you think of this so far! And to all of you that are begging for your ships to be in it more...Patience Eago, patience. Also, a massive thanks goes out to my friend Emily for editing all of this and finding the mistakes! This fic would be full of errors and awkward wording if it weren't for her! You can check her out, her username is Magnolia Sparrow-Bane-Torres. Let's get 5 reviews until the next chapter please! **


	9. The Darkness

**December 19: The Darkness**

It was a very sunny day, causing the blanket of snow outside to sparkle. Most of the Anubis kids, even Sibuna, were lounging around and actually enjoying the break. Nina, Fabian, Mara, and Alfie were watching the Doctor Who DVDs that Nina had received. Amber, Mick, and Joy were playing the board game Monopoly. Mick was getting very frustrated, Joy was enjoying her success, and Amber decided that she would never be the banker ever again. Patricia and Eddie were in the kitchen, eating a late breakfast due to the fact that they slept it.

"How can you not like pancakes, Yacker?!"

"I just like waffles better," Patricia shrugged, "That's all."

"But it's the great American breakfast, the American dream drenched in syrup and whipped cream!"

"I'm not American, moron."

"Well you're dating one, so you better get used to tasting pancakes, even if you haven't eaten any…" he smirked.

Scoffing, Patricia playfully shoved him, "Well you'll be tasting my waffles!"

Just then, the doorbell rang but nobody got up to answer it.

"Somebody get that," Patricia ordered, "Because I'm not!" she announced loudly to everyone.

"This is the best part!" Alfie cried, "The Doctor is talking to the Devil and Rose is leaving without him!"

Patricia rolled her eyes, "Is _anybody_ going to answer it?"

"Can't," Joy gleefully rolled the dice, "I'm just about to put a hotel on Boardwalk!"

Mick moaned, "And I'm probably going to land on it."

But the doorbell was still ringing.

"Somebody answer that door before I start handing out toothbrushes!" Victor shouted from his office.

Everyone stared expectantly at Patricia.

She threw up her hands in defeat, "Oh fine, I'll do it!" she muttered as she headed for the door. Opening it, she internally groaned. It was Mr. Sweet, still wearing his pajamas.

"Good morning, Miss Williamson," he greeted her, trying to remain professional despite the fact that she was dating his son.

"Er, hello Mr. Sweet."

"Is Eddison…" he coughed into a handkerchief, "I mean Eddie…present?"

"He's in the kitchen."

"Yes, thank you," he said curtly, brushing past her and into the living room. There, he observed the rest of the students, "Are we all having a nice holiday?"

Mara quickly paused the show, "Yes Mr. Sweet."

Joy set the dice down and surveying his choice of clothes, "Mr. Sweet...you look _interesting _today."

Embarrassed, Mr. Sweet glanced down at his flannel pajamas and worn shirt, "Ah, perhaps I would have dressed more appropriately, had I known that you would all be gathered here to see my casual attire."

"Mr. Sweet, where do the teachers usually sleep during the school year?" Nina asked curiously.

"They hang upside down in their classrooms," Alfie joked, referencing a Doctor Who episode that they had previously seen, causing Nina, Mara, and Fabian to laugh, "Like bats."

"No Mr. Lewis," he corrected tiredly, "The teachers are required to be housed near the school but due to the circumstances we have been using a mattress to sleep on in our offices and necessities have been provided."

"Interesting," Amber said, "It's strange to imagine teachers having proper lives."

"Though at times it feels as if all we should do is teach, though it is true, teaching is a lifelong journey," he laughed, "_Doctrina sit perpetuam uitae iter."_

Eddie peaked his head out the window when he heard the Latin, "What are you doing here?"

His father smiled nervously, "Eddison! Would you care to join me in my office?"

"What for?"

"A mere talk, my boy."

Eddie flushed, hating that they were talking like this in front of everybody, "Um, sure." He walked past the stares of everyone, not acknowledging his father as he made his way to the door.

Mr. Sweet followed after him, wondering how he always managed to disappoint his son, "I didn't embarrass you in front of your friends, did I?"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Eddie mumbled, kicking snow as he walked.

Unlocking the school, the two slowly made their way down the hallway in silence.

When they reached Mr. Sweet's office, he fumbled with the keys, "Somehow I always forget which keys are which," the keys jingled loudly, as if they were agreeing with him,, "_A multitudinem indigestam mens est nulla mens omnino_, a disorganized mind is no mind at all."

Eddie laughed appreciatively, "Maybe you should try arranging them like Victor does."

"That man is a little too strict, even for my standards," he smiled, opening the door and gesturing for Eddie to step inside, who immediately sat down in his father's chair, spinning around.

"What are you doing in my chair?"

"Sitting."

Sighing, Mr. Sweet sat across from Eddie, feeling as if _he _was the student about to get yelled at by the headmaster.

"I was wondering if you wanted to leave the school to spend the holidays at my house," he said abruptly, startlingly Eddie, who had dipped a biscuit in some tea, and spat it out.

"Goodness me, I'm sorry," Mr. Sweet muttered helplessly while Eddie coughed.

"Sorry, but what?" Eddie spluttered.

"I thought perhaps we could depart from this school, get a police escort, and spend the holidays at home."

"I think I'd rather stay here."

"Oh," Mr. Sweet looked down dejectedly, "That's fine, of course you want to be with my friends instead of me."

"No I didn't mean that!" Eddie said quickly, "There's just…things to do."

"Like what sort of things, Eddison?"

"Just…things," he said vaguely.

"Ah, well that's how you teenagers are, always being so cryptic."

Eddie nodded and they sat in an awkward silence.

"I just was hoping that we could _bond_," he stated glumly, "I need to be a better father."

"You could be a better father by telling me what being an Osirian means," Eddie said, eyes piercing his father.

Wincing at the word, Mr. Sweet cleared his throat, "Well I- I don't think that now is the time for that."

Groaning, Eddie slouched in the chair, "Why can't you just tell me?"

"It's," Mr. Sweet looked around suspiciously, hoping that no one heard his loud voice, "_complicated."_

Scoffing, Eddie leaned forward again and glared at his dad, "You think telling me is complicated? Try _being me_."

"Did something happen?" Mr. Sweet inquired nervously.

"No," he muttered darkly, "I'm just…lost and trying to figure out who I am, and if you just _told me _I think it would help."

Mr. Sweet sighed exhaustedly, "You're not ready to hear it."

"Yes I am!"

But his father just shook his head, "It's not a story I desire to tell you now, but just wait."

"_How long?" _Eddie demanded angrily.

"Until you graduate."

Eddie opened to mouth to protest, but shut it. That wasn't long, only two and a half more years! But the descendant needed protecting now.

"But-"

"No."

It was clear that Mr. Sweet was unwilling to give any more information, so Eddie just spun around in his chair, watching the office blur by.

"Eddison please, this is childish…"

But Eddie kept spinning, ignoring his father's objections. For a moment he slowed and noticed something.

He gripped the table to stop, "What are those?" he asked, pointing to a pot on the windowsill.

Mr. Sweet brightened because of the subject change, "Those are lotuses."

"Lotuses?" Eddie grinned, "Where from?"

"I just thought that my office needed a few from Egyptian things, considering the school's history."

Observing them, Eddie realized that there was an arrangement of blue, white, and pink lotuses.

"I like them," he remarked, a smile tugging on the ends of his mouth.

Nodding, Mr. Sweet smiled at his son, "I do too."

Eddie stood up and turned to face his father, "I better go, we can talk later, yeah Dad?"

"Yes, we must talk later!" he stood up to embrace his son in a hug, "I will make sure of it!" They hugged each other, both feeling extremely uncomfortable, but doing it anyways.

So Eddie set off for Anubis, feeling better about the news and his discovering, ready to tell Sibuna about what had just happened.

But Mr. Sweet just sat there, dumbfounded staring at his son, shockingly happy that he just called him _Dad._

* * *

"Can I do it, please oh please, can I do this one?"

"Oh fine," Nina laughed at his enthusiasm, "Just be careful!"

Alfie ninja rolled to the floor and karate chopped the ground, "I am stealthy and secretive, of course I'll be careful."

Patricia rolled her eyes, "What a terrible decision you've just made, Nina."

Standing up to face her, Alfie pointed firmly at her, "Don't doubt my skills, Trixie."

"I believe in you, Beau," Amber said.

"Thank you," Alfie bowed to her, "The name's Lewis, Alfie Lewis."

"Where's that from?" Patricia asked.

"You uncultured swine!" Eddie shouted.

"What?"

Joy sighed, "It's from the James Bond movies, Patricia. Have you never seen those?"

"No…"

He groaned, "We're going to have to watch those someday."

"It's a date."

"Operation Lotus will commence in five minutes!" Alfie interrupted, quickly departing from the Sibunas, jumping and kicking the air.

"He is way too excited to do this," Fabian laughed.

* * *

Later that day, when Mr. Sweet was out of his office thanks to a prank call that told him that his car was on fire in the parking lot, Alfie snuck into his office.

Feeling like a secret agent, he strategically rolled around, quickly darting from wall to wall until he reached the lotuses. Carefully, he grabbed the vase, and stuck his fingers in it, feeling around for anything hard. Finally his hand brushed something cold and he yanked on it, and out came a silver amulet, with a picture of the God Anubis embossed on the front.

He just about left, but he noticed a beautiful pink lotus that reminded him of Amber. Picking it up, he decided to give it to her, which also gave him another great idea.

* * *

The tunnel was cool and damp as Nina and Patricia walked through the dark.

Eddie had opened the tunnel for them with his ring and they had decided to go by themselves through the dark tunnel.

Finally, they came to the pit and a light examined them, stopping at the silver Amulet of Anubis around Patricia's neck. The amulet started to glow, a light that illuminated their pathway. It wasn't much, only walls and stones. Patricia looked down at her hand and to her relief the mark had faded.

Blinking, Nina peered over the chasm, "We have to dump down _that_?"

The redhead nodded, "That's the only way to move on."

Remembering how Senkhara pushed her down a pit like this sent shivers down Nina's spine.

"Scared?"

Nina grinned, "Never," she gripped her friend's hand, "Okay on one…two…three!" They both jumped down the hole.

Either from the surge of momentary adrenaline or the speed at which the fell, Nina didn't scream. Air kept rushing into her lungs, and she was completely breathless.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Joy stood in the living room, everyone gathered around here as she began to rip open a present that her parents had sent.

"Maybe it's a polar bear!" Alfie said.

"Or a life sized cut-out of Josh Hutcherson," Amber joked.

"Or a really amazing camera!" Joy cried as she saw the label, "This is too perfect!"

"Read the card!" Mara thrust the envelope into Joy's hands.

_Happy Christmas Joybells, we hope that you're having fun with your friends. The house is decorated with fairy lights and the Christmas tree stands tall but it doesn't feel the same without you. Since we can't be doing anything with you at least send us some pictures of what you're doing. Love you honey and we'll be dreaming of a Joy filled Christmas._

_-Mom and Dad_

"AW PRESH!" Amber cried.

"Presh?" Eddie asked.

"Precious!"

"Your parents are so nice," Fabian remarked.

"They are!" Joy hugged the camera to her chest, "I've been wanting this camera for so long!"

"Well go on, take some pictures!" Mick urged, "Hey where's America and what do you call her Eddie?"

"Yacker."

"Yeah, Yacker! Where are they?"

"Busy," Amber answered.

Mick made a face at her.

Grinning, Joy took a picture of him, "Happy?"

"Of course, I'm so photogenic."

After a while, Joy was talking pictures of everybody. Alfie and Amber posing together, Eddie and Mick eating, Mara and Fabian reading, lots of Mick acting goofy, group photos, some of Trudy cooking, and even one of Victor shouting at her.

Fabian and Joy were examining all the pictures.

"You're a really great photographer," Fabian laughed at the silly pictures.

"Thanks, I've always loved the idea of photography. Ya know, capturing a memory within a little piece of paper."

Fabian grinned, "So philosophical."

She took a picture of him grinning, but she frowned as she looked back on it.

"What's wrong?"

"You're happy," she cocked her head to the side, "But you look sad."

"I'm not sad."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," he chuckled lightly, "I think I'd know if I was sad."

"It's not about Nina and Eddie is it?"

"Nah, I'm not worried about that."

Joy patted his back, "I hope not, because she's bonkers over you."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

* * *

Nina's eyes slowly opened, but it was not much of an improvement, because the only light was the now dim glow of the silver amulet. She felt aching and sore as she pushed herself up. Dizzily she stood, staring up, but only seeing darkness.

Patricia groaned and also got up, rubbing her shoulders.

"That was painful," Nina stretched, "But we better start walking, the next clue's got to be around here somewhere," they began walking; only the weak light to guide them.

"How long were we falling for?" Patricia asked.

Nina shrugged, "It felt like a long time, but it probably only was a few seconds."

"Remind me to never jump into a seemingly bottomless chasm, even if it is for Sibuna," she muttered.

"Will do."

The girls kept walking, the long stretch of stone feeling endless with its dull and repeating patterns. The only sounds were their footsteps and breathing.

After a while, Patricia only counted one set of footsteps.

"Nina?" she called out to the darkness.

No reply.

Gripping the amulet, Patricia stood in place, wondering if she should wait for Nina or keep going.

_Welcome to the Darkness, Patricia._

Flipping around, she searched for the source of the voice but found nothing.

_The Darkness welcomes you, we have been expecting you._

There it was again, that deep and calming voice, possibly calm.

"Who are you?" she asked, struggling to not let her voice crack.

_The Darkness is not a who, but a what._

She gulped, "Then _what _are you?"

_We are the shadows. We are those horrific memories you try to block out. We are the whispers that have haunted you for so long._

"Are you trying to scare me?" she attempted to scoff but it got caught in her throat, "Because it's not working."

_The darkness wants you to overcome fear. We only choose the pure of heart to face the darkness._

"Pure of heart? Try Nina, not me."

_Oh but we have Nina, she has been chosen as well._

"Why are you doing this?"

_To help you become strong. Only those who pass this test may continue._

"Continue what? The search? Life?"

_Both._

The amulet's light flickered, and then there was total darkness.

_Good luck Patricia, may the God's guide you as you battle the Darkness. But be warned, the Darkness knows what is inside of you._

* * *

One moment Nina was walking beside Patricia, and then she was alone.

_Nina Martin, we have waited so long for you to come back._

Nina's heard started rapidly beating as she frantically spun in circles, seeking out that voice. It was a woman's voice, the kind that was so terrifyingly calm that it could stop your heart.

"Come back? I've never been here before," she said nervously.

_The Darkness found you, when you were young._

"The darkness?" Nina echoed, perplexed.

_Yes. And now you must it again. Are you ready?_

"Ready for what?!" she demanded.

_To overcome your fears, because such sorrow will just make you weaker._

"I don't understand."

_You will soon. Now go, the Darkness awaits. Pass this test and you may find the next clue. Fail and you will lose your life. Anubis will judge you after you have completed the two tasks. _

Nina felt something touch her shoulder, and she let out a blood curling scream.

* * *

_This is the first task, face your fear to move on._

Squinting in the bright lights, Patricia shuddered as she saw what stood in front of her.

It was a young Piper, majestically playing her violin, arms gracefully moving the bow up and down, creating a beautiful sound.

Patricia parent's stood far from her, tears streaming down their faces.

"Our daughter is so talented," her mother commented, wiping away a tear.

"I wish Patricia could be like her," her father sighed.

And there was a young Patricia, tugging at the hems of her parents clothes, pleading, "Mommy, Daddy, look at me. I can do things too."

But her parents didn't even glance down at her, they just swayed to Piper's music, praising her.

A single tear fell down the young Patricia's cheek, "Love me. Please, I'm here. It's me, Patricia," her small voice broke with each word.

The current Patricia held back tears, knowing that this was only a distorted memory, but it was painful nonetheless.

But then the scene changed, and it was the Williamson family in a taxi cab.

"Please don't take me away," a young Patricia begged, "I want to stay with you."

But her mother shook her head, "I'm sorry sweetie, but we can only afford one child and Piper is obviously the better choice.

Piper beamed proudly at her parents.

"I won't cause any trouble," she promised, "I'll be quiet, I won't say a word."

Her father laughed, "How thoughtful, but we must say goodbye now." The cab rolled to a stop, and the building outside was a home for foster children.

"No!" Patricia protested, but her parents threw her out of the car like yesterday's trash, with only a feeble suitcase.

It was pouring outside, and her lip wobbled, "I'm cold."

An umbrella flew out of the cab and Patricia caught it, bursting into tears.

"Please," she sobbed, but her family just waved and drove away.

Patricia sat down on the sidewalk and wept bitterly, "Nobody loves me."

This had often been one of Patricia's nightmarish fears as a child, and she could no longer take it. She broke out in a run towards the memory, and suddenly she was there.

"Who are you?"

But Patricia just grabbed her younger self in a fierce hug, "I'm a friend. It's okay, I love you."

Racking sobs shook the child's body, "They don't want me."

Patricia was crying now too, "_I _want you," she assured the child.

Suddenly Patricia was no longer holding anybody but she was still crying.

_That was rather simple, wasn't it? What a practical fear, abandonment._

Hastily wiping away her tears, Patricia composed herself, "That's me, practical Patricia."

_The next task will not be so easy._

Patricia felt breathing on her neck, turning around, and her heart skipped a beat as she recognized it.

But before she could scream a hand clamped over her mouth.

* * *

Nina was turned around to see a skeleton hand clasping her shoulder, and as she screamed again as she saw the skull.

She sprinted away, not looking behind her as she did,

But she tripped down something, causing her to fall again. But luckily this was a quick one and she landed on a pile of something.

Examining her surroundings, she realized that she was in a pit full of skulls. Screaming again, Nina climbed out, trembling with fear.

Then she was in a graveyard, skulls scattered everywhere.

She saw her parent's graves and Sarah's grave.

She _hated _skulls. They reminded her of graves, which reminded her of funerals, which reminded her of death.

Clutching her stomach in nausea, she noticed more graves, one for each member of Anubis house, various bones spread on their graves.

So she just ran, trying to block out the images, and came to an abrupt stop as she saw one more grave, which made her nearly scream but she could barely breathe, let alone make any sounds.

_Nina Martin_

_July 7__th__ 1995-December 24__th__ 2012_

That was in 5 days, Nina thought weakly. Was she going to die in 5 days.

"No!" she screamed, shaking her fist in the air, "This isn't real! _I am alive and I will not die._"

The scene faded and she was in the darkness once again.

_Well done, Chosen. You fear death so much that is has utterly consumed you. But now for the second task, the most difficult one. Complete this and you may carry on._

There was something cold and wet at Nina's feet.

* * *

Rufus dragged Patricia to a van and she kicked and tried to scream, but he had stuffed a cloth into her mouth.

"My my," he chided, sneering, "You are being rather difficult today." He pressed her nostrils together and Patricia blacked out from lack of oxygen.

When she woke up, she was in that stupid warehouse again, tied to a chair.

Rufus was circling the cheer, smiling evilly, "Can't go anywhere now, now can we?"

Patricia opened her mouth to say a snarky comment back but no sounds came out.

"I'd rather that you didn't talk."

She tried screaming but nothing happened.

"I'm sorry dearest Patricia, but we'll not hear your lovely voice today." He sprayed her with some sort of gas and she passed out again.

The next time she woke up, blood trickled from her lip and her jaw ached. A television was in front of her, and she could see her battered reflection in it. Bruises up and down her body, cuts everywhere, an enlarged lip, and a huge black spot on her cheek.

Rufus entered in from the darkness, "You look like you're in pain," he pretended to look sad, "I'm so _sorry_," he tightly twisted her arm and it seared in pain, but she couldn't scream.

He left once again, leaving Patricia alone to try and not cry.

For a while, she kept trying to scream but it was useless. Sighing, she sank back in the chair and tried to close her swollen eyelids.

But when she awoke for the third time, Rufus stood over her with a knife.

"What if I cut you up and sent you to your boyfriend in pieces?" he said, inching the knife closer to her, "I could record your screams and give them to your friends."

The knife was right above her heart and finally Patricia found her voice.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed, breaking free of the ropes. In his surprise, she knocked the knife out of his hands and scrambled for the door. It was locked and she furiously jiggled it as Rufus approached.

"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You're mine."

Turning around, Patricia ducked as he jabbed the knife at her head. She started to sprint away from him but stopped.

"I'm not running away from you!" she shouted and he halted, "You don't scare me! I am a Sibuna and you are _nothing_."

A look of terror flashed across Rufus' face, but then he was gone.

The scene was gone and Patricia was safe now, no bruises or cuts.

_You've overcome your greatest fears, Patricia. You have survived your Darkness. Now be judged._

And the voice spoke to her no more.

* * *

_Step into the water and drown._

"What?" Nina asked.

_Step in the water and drown._

"I will not!" she cried, stepping away from the pool of water.

"Do it willingly, or I will force you down," a familiar voice commanded.

She turned around and saw Fabian trudging towards her, skin pale and eyes colorless.

"Stop!" Nina shouted as he gripped her arm and dragged her closer to the water, "Fabian it's me, stop!"

But he shoved her face inches away from the water and managed to sputter out, "No, I'll do it!"

Fabian let go of her and she quickly stood up to face him, breathing hard.

He faded away into a wisp of black smoke and she held her fingers out in the air to make sure.

_You must be willing to drown. Your last task is to fight back._

"I thought you told me to drown," she took a few steps into the water, it was icy cold.

_Yes, but you must stay alive._

"That's not possible!" she walked until the water was up to her knees.

_That is you challenge. Breathe when there is no air. Live when there is only death. Fight when there is no hope. Pass and you will have defeated your darkness._

"And a I can find the next riddle?"

_Jump._

Nina took that as a yes and plunged into the water, the freezing temperature was nearly unbearable. When she opened her eyes, she observed that the water was actually a deep, bottle glass sort of blue, cruel and beautiful at the same time. She watched bubbles, generated from her jump, float upwards.

How did they know that drowning was one Nina's greatest fears, a reoccurring nightmare for her?

_When she had been a child, she had lived near the beach. Her parents were alive and had always taken her there to swim. She had loved splashing in the water, flailing around and giggling as waves crashed on the shore._

"_Don't go too deep," her mother had always warned, she even had a poem that went with it._

_Oh my lovely, precious daughter_

_Stay away from the water_

_If you find yourself in too deep_

_Swim away, your heart is what it wants to keep_

_The ocean wants to steal you away_

_Keep close to me, and promise to stay_

_But one day, when her parents weren't looking she swam out as far as she could, until the figures on the beach looked miniscule. Paddling, she felt proud because she had swam out so far all by herself._

_But then her happiness shattered as a massive wave towered ominously over her. She didn't even have time to scream as the water engulfed her. Crashing underwater, she felt disorientated with waves continually pressing down on her. Young Nina felt so weak and feared that she might die in this vast empty ocean. She tried to swim up but the current kept pulling her down further. As she drifted down, she cursed herself for disobeying her mother. Her lungs burned and she wanted so desparately to relieve her aching chest but letting some air out. But through the black spots forming her vision, she saw a hand reach towards her. Despite the searing pains in her lungs she swam upward and grabbed a hold of it. The hand yanked her out of the water and to the surface. Nina took large gulps of air, and turned to see that it was her father who had saved her. _

_Crying, she pressed her face into his chest._

"_There, there," he stroked her hair comfortingly and hugging her tightly, "I've got you, baby girl."_

"_I should've listened to mom," she sobbed._

_He wiped away her tears, "It's not your fault."_

_He carried her to Nina's mother and they all collapsed on each other, hugging and trembling._

"_I'm so sorry," the young child hiccupped, "I'll always listen to you from now on."_

" _It's okay," she assured, "You're safe here."_

_From then on, Nina kept away from the water. Her parents had tried to get her back in but she refused._

_Nearly a year later, her parents had died in a car crash during a particularly stormy day. But it was no ordinary crash, the rain had caused them to slide across the road and they plunged into the ocean. They were stuck in the car as they sank deeper into the water, the police had told Gran, while Nina listened around the corner, sobbing silently, appallingly imaging her parent's drowning inside a vehicle._

_And after that day, Nina had not ever swam again, because the water could not be trusted._

_The ocean had claimed her parents and stolen them away._

The memory ended and Nina opened her eyes once again, still sinking deeper.

But all around her, lifeless bodies were sinking as well, just as pale and colorless as Fabian had been.

Because she held her breath Nina had to stifle a scream.

Everybody was there, Gran, her parents, Trudy, Mick, Joy, Patricia, Eddie, Amber, Alfie, Jerome, Mara, Fabian, and even Sarah.

Nina wanted to sob but she couldn't, all she could do was stare at the dead bodies of her friends and family.

But to her horror, they all opened their eyes and it was nothing but white, and they opened their mouths.

_Join us, Nina_, they chanted.

_Let the water claim you._

_It's easier, not breathing._

_Death is swift._

_Just let go Nina._

But Nina wouldn't open her mouth to let any air out, she just closed her eyes and drifted away, their voices ringing in her ears. Her lungs screamed in protest, but she just held her breath and sank further into blue emptiness.

* * *

Nina awoke, coughing and clutching her sides, but she realized that she wasn't even wet.

She saw Patricia at her side, brushing away tears. The two girls hugged, not knowing the details of their friend's experience, but knowing it had probably been awful.

They turned to face the gold and black statue of Anubis standing before them.

_You have been both deemed…_

They held their breath.

_Worthy to enter in. The darkness bids you goodbye._

The statue vanished and they walked into the room that he had been guarding.

Inside the room there was only one thing, a large picture. It was of Isis, Osiris, and Horus holding hands and underneath them the words read…

_The key to safety lies in song and broken glass._

Patricia took a picture of the words on her phone.

"How do we get out?" she asked.

"There's a door," Nina pointed to a rectangular outlined shape at the edge of the room, and as they crept closer they noticed an oval shaped indent in the wall.

Nina pressed her locket into the hall and the door slid back. Walking through, they realized that they were back in the tunnels.

So with shaky breaths and not daring to talk, the two girls kept walking, but before they exited Nina grabbed Patricia's arm.

"I don't want to go back to the house," she admitted, "Not yet."

"Me neither, let's go back through the library."

So they walked through the rest of the tunnel obstacles which were now harmless, until they reached the entryway into the library. Crawling through the hole, they went into the library and just sat there for a while, neither speaking. Finally they exited the library and made their way for the house.

But they didn't see the figure walking behind them, concealed in the shadows.

* * *

As the day turned to night, Alfie went up to Amber with the lotus in his hand.

He presented it to her, "For my dearest flower."

She graciously accepted it and smiled, "What's this for?"

"An invitation for our date tonight."

"We've got a date tonight?"

"Sure do," Alfie kissed her on the lips and she whispered into him, "Where?"

He grinned against her mouth, "The most magical place of all."

Laughing, she pulled away from him, "And where is that, beau?"

"The attic."

"So _romantic_."

"Be there at ten and wear pink!" he cried as he walked away.

She grinned, her boyfriend was a dork but she still sort of liked that about him.

* * *

Jason Winkler, who had been walking to Anubis house to talk with Victor spotted Nina and Patricia ahead of him. He slowed down and quieted his footsteps, intently listening to their conversation. They were talking about the descendant, those kids knew!

So he made a new plan and spun around, hiding in the bushes. They would be back to search in the library, as Jason had been secretly doing. At this point, he'd figured out most of the riddle and just needed to know when the descendant's vulnerable date was and who it was.

He was a desperate man now. In shame of who he was, Jason had left the school and moved. By then his disease was getting worse every day, but he had met someone, and over the months were his disease was manageable they fell in love, and eventually married. She was even expecting a child, but now the cancer was killing him. There were mystery aches, sweating, shaking, coughing, and massive headaches. He decided that he was going to go back to that struggle for eternal life and find it for good, sealing his young and healthy life forever.

He was going to catch those kids and press them for information.

* * *

All of Sibuna was gathered once again in Nina and Amber's room, listening as Nina and Patricia told them about the new riddle.

"What took you guys so long?" Joy asked curiously.

Patricia and Nina exchanged a glance, "Nothing," answered Patricia. The two had agreed to not tell anyone about the tasks, they were too painful to recollect.

"Anyway, we need to figure out what this means," Nina said, repeating the riddle once more.

"Hey!" Fabian cried, "Didn't the original riddle mention a song?"

They all grabbed the phones and stared at the picture, muttering amongst themselves '_the anthem that sings of safety'. _

"The word safety and song are there twice," Amber observed, "That's got to mean something, right?"

Alfie, who was sick of tired of doing so much research also pulled out his phone. He googled the words anthem, safety, and just in case he added the word Egypt, because in the end everything tied back to Egypt.

"Eslami ya Masr," he said loudly,

Everyone quieted and turned around.

"What was that, Alfie?" Eddie asked.

"Eslami ya Masr," Alfie repeated, reading from his phone, "It was the national anthem of Egypt from 1923 to1936, written by Egyptian poet, Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie, who was inspired to write it by his friend Robert Frobisher-Smythe, one of Howard Carter's fellow expeditioners."

"Alfie you are a genius!" Nina cried.

"Actually, google is a genius," he corrected, showing everyone the lyrics, "Should we sing it or something?"

Eddie shrugged, "It's worth a try."

So they all gathered around Alfie and horribly sang the song, everyone a bit off key and definitely not together.

Mara popped in unexpectedly, "Where you guys singing?"

Joy quickly shook her head, "Of course not, silly. Maybe you're hearing voices!"

Frowning, Mara shut the door, mumbling to herself that perhaps she _was _going crazy.

Laughing, Nina turned to everyone else, "Let's go to the library and research this more!"

"We _still _have to do research?" Alfie groaned.

"Don't worry, I can go," Nina volunteered.

"I'll join you," added Eddie.

Fabian quickly said, "Three heads are better than one."

Patricia too, felt a sort of wariness of her boyfriend, as Fabian did for Nina, "Let's make it four."

"Okay that's enough," Nina raised an eyebrow at Fabian and Patricia, "We better go now, it's getting late."

The four Sibunas embarked for the library, Patricia and Fabian silently sharing the feeling of jealously, but Nina and Eddie did not notice, and chatted happily while the other two watched from behind, wondering, with pangs in their hearts, how close the two had gotten.

* * *

It was ten o'clock, and not a pin dropped as Amber picked the attic's lock and skipped up the stairs, pink dress twirling as she did.

When she reached the top attic, she curiously slid the door open and peeked inside. It was a pink snowstorm! There were _pink _fairy lights strung up everywhere and Alfie stood, wearing a pink tux and a pink bowtie.

"What is going on?" she asked, laughing as he grabbed her hand and led her to a pink blanket on the floor.

"Merry Pinkmas, Amber," he uncovered a platter that had an array of pink food! There were pink cookies, pink lemonade, and even pink waffles with pink strawberries and pink syrup.

"I love it!" she gushed, sighing happily as she bit into a delicious pink cookie, "No raspberries, right?"

"Not one," Alfie grinned, and they began to eat the pink feast.

"Where did you get that outfit from?"

"Snuck into the drama room after I got the-Oh I almost forget!" he grabbed the pink lotus from earlier and stuck it into her hair, "Pink _really _suits you."

Giggling, she poured herself some pink lemonade into a fancy wine glass, "Alfie you're the best."

Blushing, he poured himself a glass and they clinked glasses, "To us, so that we may have many more dates, even if they are dripping pink."

"To us," she echoed, taking a sip.

"How did you know pink was my favorite color, beau?"

"Trust me, it wasn't hard to find out."

Amber took a bit of her pink waffle, "My mouth can barely contain all this pink!"

He laughed, "And when we kiss, the pinks will collide and we'll be bursting with pinkness!"

"That is the weirdest thing anybody has everybody said to me, but I still want to kiss you anyways so I must like you."

"Good, because I like you too," Alfie snuck in a quick kiss before Amber took another bite.

Alfie made a strange face and Amber asked, "Do I taste funny?"

"No, it's just that you taste like pink, which is very Amber. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that."

So they just kept on kissing, the soft glow of the pink lights creating a loving atmosphere as they tasted the pink in each other.

* * *

For once, the Sibunas had quick success as they researched Eslami ya Masr. Stuck inside the book about anthems of Egypt on that page about the song, there was a handwritten paper. On the top it read _The Acolyte's Song, by Robert Frobisher Smythe, created from Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie's original version._

_Be safe O Descendant, I will sacrifice_

_There is my hand for you, if the world raised a hand [to hurt you]_

_Never you shall yield, ever_

_I am hoping for tomorrow [to be better]_

_My heart and my determination are with me for strife_

_And to my heart, O Descendant, you are for more precious than jewels_

_Safety for you, O Descendant_

_And Peace, O Descendant_

_If the world threw their arrows [at you]_

_I will shield you by my heart_

_And be safe in all times_

_I am a Descendant, built by who built the_

_everlasting pyramid, that defeated doom_

_The pyramids stand beside us_

_Against the world's arrogance, is as my stand_

_In my defense and struggle for your protection_

_I do not turn away nor get tired neither yield_

_Safety for you, O Descendant _

_And Peace, O descendant_

_If the world threw their arrows [at you]_

_I will shield you by my heart_

_And be safe in all times_

_Hey you who are trying to chain our orbits_

_There is no star in the sky is under your control_

_The blood of the Descendant is a sky that cannot be possessed_

_And the Descendants owned it to its horizons_

_There is no enemy can attack you, O Descendant _

_We are all for your protection_

_Safety for you, O Descendant_

_And Peace, O Descendant_

_If the world threw their arrows [at you]_

_I will shield you by my heart_

_And be safe in all times_

_To highness, O sons and daughters, to highness_

_And honor the future _

_The whole world is to save our Descendant, because _

_we put our Descendant's sake first_

_My left-side has my heart_

_And the Descendant is the heart of my right-side_

_Safety for you, O Descendant _

_And Peace, O Descendant_

_If the world threw their arrows [at you]_

_I will shield you by my heart_

_And be safe in all times_

With the paper in hand, Fabian and Patricia headed back to Anubis house as Eddie and Nina put away the books. Just as Fabian was about to turn around and shout for Nina to hurry up, the door locked.

The two raced up to the door and banged furiously on it, but could not get in.

Inside, the lights went out for a moment, and when they turned back on Nina and Eddie stood face to face with Jason Winkler.

"Mr. Winkler?" Nina asked, completely shocked, "What are you doing here?"

"It's you two, isn't it? You're the ones with the connection. And yes, I know about the riddle and the descendant."

The Osirian and Paragon just stood there with their mouths hanging wide open.

"Hello again Miss Martin, earlier I heard you and Miss Williamson discussing it, so don't pretend you don't know. You stupid little children left your clue lying around and I've figured it out. A potion made from the deadly venom of a king cobra and papyrus leaves, right? My ingredients will be here soon. Now tell me, who is the descendant and when is their vulnerable time?"

Eddie shook his head, "We don't know the answer to either of those questions."

"No matter, but you will know soon. And when you find out, I'll be there, getting all of the answers from you."

Nina stepped forward, "That's not going to happen."

"You do not control that," he muttered, "Nothing is going stop me from getting eternal life, not even you-"

"Meddling bunch of kids?" Eddie added, laughing.

"You've been warned," Jason growled, stepping back into the shadows.

Nina and Eddie quickly unlocked the door, running back to the house with Fabian and Patricia to tell Sibuna about what had just happened.

"So he's the mental one?" Amber asked, gulping, "Mr. Winkler? Our old history teacher?"

"I'm sure of it," Nina said, a grim certainty creeping into her voice, "It's him.

"We need to find out the descendant is," Eddie looked around suspiciously, "And fast."

* * *

**Yeah...okay. Let me apologize for this horribly long chapter, it was extremely hard to write and it took me like three hours. I wouldn't gotten this done earlier but I was a little WRAPPED UP. Ha ha, Christmas puns. Anyway, tomorrow's chapter will be better, so for now just bear with me. But please, let's get 5 more reviews until the next chapter. Thanks guys!**


	10. Scars and Stories

**December 20: Scars and Stories**

Most people, upon finding a large group of teenagers over Christmas break in a library, might think that they were just dedicated students.

But this was not the case.

Every Sibuna member was gathered in the library to sing the Acolytes' Song.

"Why are we doing this?" Alfie moaned.

"Because," Nina reminded, "Everybody at Anubis would think that we were crazy if we sang it there."

"But why are we _all _here?" Joy asked.

"We're the Acolytes," Fabian said, "Since it's apparently _our _song we should probably all be singing."

"I'm not even an Acolyte," Eddie scowled, "Why am I even here?"

"You're the Osirian, close enough," Nina rolled her eyes, "And besides, we still need to find out when the descendant is the most susceptible to the mental one, as Jason so kindly reminded us."

"I still can't believe that he's the mental one," Patricia shook her head, "He was always just so…_nice _and _good_."

"That's the closest you've ever come to a compliment," Alfie looked surprised.

"It's okay if you have a crush on him, Patricia," Amber sighed, "We all did."

"I do not have a crush on him," fumed Patricia, "He was just different, okay? He was a good teacher and he wanted to help look for Joy."

"And now he's trying to kill a person," finished Nina, "Can we just sing now?"

So the seven of them sang the song, sounding a lot better compared to last night.

For a moment nothing happened, but then the ground start to shake. It was like an earthquake, with books falling from their shelves and glass breaking. The Sibunas held themselves up, staying away from the bookshelves and windows.

Finally, after a few minutes of the earth trembling, it stopped.

Wobbly, Joy was about to start walking but Fabian noticed one of the windows breaking, and shoved her out of the way. Glass scattered everywhere but the two remained unharmed.

"Fabian you're a life saver," she laughed shakily, "Literally."

"It's no problem," Fabian peered closely at the glass, "Wait just a second," he bent down, careful not to slice his fingers on the glass.

He pointed to the pile of glass, "The key to safety lies in song and _broken _glass," he grinned.

Grinning, Nina crouched beside him and the rest of Sibuna joined.

"Now what?" Patricia inquire, crossing her arms.

Eddie carefully picked up a shard of glass and held it up in the light, "It almost looks like…there's words on here!" he connected two pieces, "Look it's an S!"

"So we put them together, like a puzzle," Amber said, adding another piece to Eddie's part, "Now we have Se!"

The Sibunas rearranged the window back together, shouting occasionally as the letters connected into words.

"We've got a Hath!"

"P and T apparently go together!"

"This makes Bas. Could it be short for Basket?"

Finally, the glass pieces were all sorted back together, but instead of a rectangular shape it made an oval shape, resembling Nina's locket.

"Creepy," Joy remarked.

"Okay let's see what we have here," Nina walked up and down the oval to read aloud the words.

"_Amneris _

_189 7 9 _

_22 18 4_

_Ptah_

_209 3 15_

_139 4 13_

_Osiris_

_10 11 4_

_337 16 11_

_Tutankhamen_

_68 5 10_

_116 8 4_

_Bastet_

_92 6 12_

_297 14 8_

_Hathor_

_120 19 3 _

_51 4 7_

_Osiris_

_304 22 1_

_84 27 5_

_Sekhmet_

_163 20 6_

_256 8 2."_

"Okay so those are all Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, a Pharaoh of Egypt, and Amneris, who was probably the first Paragon," Fabian assessed the situation, "Now what could the numbers mean? There's 6 of them on each," he slapped his forehead, "Oh duh Fabian! We're in a room full of _books!"_

"Wow, did you come up with that all by yourself?" Patricia sneered.

"No but look!" Fabian grabbed a random book, "It goes like this. The first number is a page number," he flipped to page 189, "The second number is a line number," he skimmed down to line number 7, "And the third is a word!" he touched the ninth letter on the line, "Get it?"

Nodding understandingly, Eddie clapped his hands, "Okay everyone, find all the books you can on one of the people on this list."

Lugging books from the shelves, everyone made a pile of each book in the library that had their person on the title. Nina and Eddie tried sorting through the books, but they realized that in each pile there was one book that had the same cover design. Alfie and Fabian put away the rest of the books.

"So these seem to be the same," Nina explained, "They've all got this green cover, like they might be in a set or something."

"So get a book and start looking up some words!" commanded Eddie.

Joy grabbed the one about Bastet, and grinned at Eddie, "I'll take this one."

He grinned back, "You do that."

After a few minutes, Joy shouted, "I'm done! The two words are _my _and _descendant."_

Amber stared at her, holding up the Hathor book, "Are you joking, Joy? Because those are my words too."

"This isn't funny guys," Fabian scolded, "If you're stealing the words from me then that's just lazy."

Sighing, Eddie slammed his book shut, "Crap, I've got those words as well. What the heck?"

Nina stood up, cursing Robert Frobisher Smythe under her breath, "So everyone's words are _my _and _descendant?"_

They all nodded.

"Okay, so has anybody got ideas about what this means?"

She was met with blank stares.

"Anybody? Anything? At all?"

Silence.

"Okay since we're all completely clueless about this," Nina sighed, "and since the library's probably no help at all…let's just go back."

They all put away the books and as they all walked back to the house Fabian fell into step alongside Nina.

"So that's it?" he asked, jabbing her playfully.

"I don't know what to do now, there are no more riddles left, so what are we supposed to do?"

He shrugged, "I guess you're right. But you're not usually one to give up."

"Yesterday was just…long."

"How so?" he watched her carefully, noticing how exhausted she looked, "What happened with you and Patricia."

"Don't worry about it."

"Hey," he stopped walking, "It's my job to worry about you, okay?"

Biting her lip, she looked around to make sure nobody was listening, "It's just that we had to do…_things _to get the next riddle."

"What kinds of things?"

"Tests."

"Like calculus tests? Or physical tests?"

"Fear tests," she murmured.

His expression was bewildered, "What does that mean?"

"There was a voice…and it said that we needed to face our fears. And so I had to…"

"Had to what?" he pressed.

"I don't how to explain it...well…it showed you your greatest fears and you had to get over them," she said quickly.

"Your greatest fears?" he remembered something from last year, "Like skulls?"

Shivering, she nodded, "Yeah. And lots of them. And…drowning."

"Drowning?"

"Mhmm," she mumbled, "When I was a kid I had a bad experience with the water."

"You almost drowned?"

"Yeah," she rubbed her arms, looking away from him, "I lived, as you can tell."

"Oh," his eyes were full of sympathy for her, "That's…"

"And my parents…you know that they crashed in a car, right? Well car was actually in the ocean…so I'm not exactly a fan of the water."

Fabian was speechless, how could Nina cope with this kind of grief. Instead of saying anything he just hugged her.

"Oh gosh," she whispered into his chest, "Thank you, for not saying anything. I hate when people say stupid things, like trials help us become stronger, or they're in a better place now, or one day you will realize that you needed this," she added bitterly, "Those are the absolute worst things to say."

He let go of her, and gave her a half smile, "I promise not to say anything stupid."

The corners of her mouths twitched, almost smiling. But she just kept walking, and as they got further she clasped hands with Fabian.

And he felt like maybe they were going to be okay now.

* * *

Later that day, each of the Anubis girls were gathered in Mara's room, each having been dragged into there by her.

"Explain yourself," Patricia demanded, "I was trying to take a nap!"

"And I was taking a picture!" Joy cried, "The lighting was so perfect…"

"Neens, Joy, and I were in the middle of a dramatic Say Yes to the Dress marathon," added Amber and Joy nodded in fierce agreement.

"I don't mind being here," Nina shrugged, grateful to not be watching that overdramatized show.

"It's Fabian's birthday tomorrow!" Mara finally shouted, fed up with everyone complaining.

Nina gaped at her, "Fabian didn't tell me that!"

"Nobody was supposed to know," Mara dropped her voice, suspiciously glancing at the door, "But I saw it on his phone when he left it in the kitchen yesterday."

"Mara you sneak," Patricia grinned, "So what are we going to do about it?"

"We're going to throw him a surprise party tomorrow! Okay so I've got a whole plan ready…I will arrange everything, Joy you need to make him a cake and ensure that there are drinks, Patricia you need to decorate the party, we'll need streamers, balloons, and probably a banner, and Nina and Amber you two are in charge of telling the boys and getting Fabian presents. Since we can't go to stores you'll need to order things from the internet! I know a website of a business not too far from here that can bring us stuff today. There's a fund set aside for people's birthdays that you two can use! I'll have someone distract Fabian while we set up, then at noon we'll jump out and yell surprise. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded and set to work. Mara grabbed her clipboard and began planning every detail of the party, Patricia got out some markers, and began to decorate a banner. Joy gathered the ingredients for a delicious cake, cherry chocolate was Fabian's favorite. Amber told all of the boy's about it and then she joined Nina in ordering Fabian some great presents.

* * *

Fabian came back into his room, hair still damp from the shower. As he was drying his hair, he noticed an odd looking envelope lying on his bed. He picked it up, examining the object and deducing that is was harmless. Ripping it open, Fabian began to read its contents.

_Fabian,_

_Happy seventeenth birthday tomorrow, son. I know this apology is late and what I did was unforgivable but I would appreciate it so much if you could take the time to see me. I'll be at the motel on 32nd street and if you want to contact me, you can call this number 587-733-8970. If you want to meet me in person, I can arrange a police escort for you to come here. Please come, I just want a second chance._

_-Richard_

Fabian's hands began to shake and he frantically read the letter again several times, hardly believing the words that were on the page.

His dad was trying to get in contact with him. Fabian had not seen his father in over 10 years.

Fabian ran to the mirror and looked at his face with scrutiny, scanning for the faded scar. His fingers found the old wound, a long pale streak that ran across his cheek, remembering exactly how he had gotten it.

_A 7 year old Fabian came home one evening, shoulders slumped and a miserable expression strewn across his face._

_What's wrong kiddo, bad day at school?_

_No daddy. It's just that we played football in primary school today. They were picking teams for the little leagues. _

_Did you make it?_

_No._

_I'm so disappointed in you Fabian. Boys your age are supposed to be good at football. All you ever do is read books!_

_I'm sorry daddy but I tried, I really did!_

_I don't believe you! Father screamed._

_Daddy it's just that I-_

_No buts. Fabian sometimes you just make me so angry!_

_Fabian, lip trembling and eyes wide stared into the growing rage in his father's eyes. He knew what was coming next. He did not like it, but daddy said it was for his own good because Fabian was a bad, bad boy._

_I'll make the team next time I swear-_

_Will you though Fabian? You are so useless!_

_He swung at his son, his temper reaching its peak point. Fabian cried out in pain, falling to the ground because of the intensity of the blow._

_This was not the first time._

_But usually father was kind. _

_Hitting in a way that left no marks._

_Bruising where no one would see._

_But this time he had hit Fabian's cheek and the gash begun to swell and bleed. _

_Hot tears spilled from Fabian's eyes and his father immediately calmed. He bent down to Fabian's level, though the boy shook from fear, he ruffled his hair._

_Fabian jerked away from his father, Don't touch me!_

_Richard's eyes filled with rage again, You will not speak to me that way, I am your father! He clenched his fist and held it near his son's face, shaking with fury._

_Little did he know, Fabian's mother stood in the entryway of the kitchen, covering her mouth with her hand in absolute and utter shock. Richard! What are you doing? She screamed._

_He whipped around to see his wife staring at him with tears streaming down her face._

_Who are you?_

_Honey now calm down…_

_I won't! She ran over to her son and picked him up in her arms, Don't you touch him!_

_Don't be like that-_

_You monster! Stay away from us!_

_She ran to the phone and instantly dialed the police, but when they got there Richard Rutter had fled, leaving behind everything he owned. _

_Samantha was devastated by the loss of her husband. She had never imagined he would be likes this. She immediately took her two children, Fabian and Katie, and started a brand new life with them. Surprisingly enough, she found love again, to another man named Ian, who was gentler and kinder. She burned everything that had to do with Richard. Old photo albums and journal entries turned to ash. Despite everyone's concerns, she handled everything with the utmost grace and precision, she was going to be okay._

_Fabian, however, was a completely different story._

_Everything went downhill from there with the boy and his mother._

_After checking him, she found lots of bruises, cuts, and scrapes that had been previously well hidden. Then she took him to a doctor, stitched him up, and dropped him off at the therapist every Tuesday. But it was useless, Fabian would not talk to anybody about what happened. The therapist would prod him with questions but Fabian would just twiddle his thumbs and tried to think about happier things._

_He never had a relationship with his stepfather, even though he was a fantastic wife to Samantha and fantastic father to Katie. Samantha and Ian decided to have a child together, and her name was Lily. Even though he wasn't around much, Fabian liked Lily, because she was young and sweet to him._

_Fabian's mother cried and begged to hear the entire story, but Fabian told her nothing. He barely spoke about school, friends, or about anything at all to her. He had become silent._

_Somehow he managed to hide the cuts on his sleeves that his father would make, one mark for every misbehavior. One night Katie noticed them, and he knew that she could say them but she never pressed him for any information. So he decided to tell her everything, it was the first time that he had really spoken to his family in a while. Katie intently listened and swore to never tell a soul, despite her mother's protests. _

_Unsure of what to do, after counsel with Fabian's stepfather, his mother had him attend a boarding school just a few miles away from home._

_Despite the constant letters she wrote to him and various attempts to talk to him, they barely spoke about anything at all._

_Samantha had not only lost her husband, but also her little boy._

Fabian was sitting on his bed, face in his hands, incredibly glad Eddie wasn't there.

For many years, Fabian had gone through life mostly unnoticeable, laying low and keeping quiet.

Nobody assumed that he had some sort of secret back story.

Nobody ever inquired about his family.

Nobody ever questioned why he always showered in the dark.

Nobody ever asked why he refused to take his clothes off in public.

But now his walls were coming down and Fabian feared he could not conceal the scars of his past.

When they had been forced to stay home because of the serial killer, Fabian was swept with relief. Christmases at home were one of Fabian's least favorite things. Filled with awkward silence and forced conversation. He had immediately texted his mother with the news, thankful to miss Christmas this year.

During the summer or over holidays he usually only said a few things around the dinner table, and whenever possible would stay in his or Katie's room. He spent a fair amount of time at Katie's dorm room at her university, chatting away about anything but the past.

But the past had found him.

Thoughts whirled around Fabian's head, Should he talk to his father? Should he call the police? Should he refuse him?

Never, had he pondered over making this decision. Fabian had just thought that he had seen the last of his father. And why had he chosen now, of all times, to try and contact him?

Feeling conflicted, Fabian grabbed his phone and the letter, rushing out of his room and into the attic. This was where he went when he needed to be alone, a place where he could just be with his thoughts.

But so much was on his mind right now. How were they going to protect the descendant? Was Jason going to stop them? And not to mention, Eddie and Nina, who were now always spending time together.

Shaking his head, Fabian picked up his phone and slowly dialed the number on the letter, forcefully pressing each one.

Trembling, he held it up to his hear, just listening to the dull ringing.

He heard a click and a voice answered him, a voice that had haunted him for years, "Hello?"

"R-Richard? Er, this is Fabian." Fabian said hoarsely.

Fabian heard a gulp on the other end, "Fabian," he echoed, "It's been a while since I've heard your voice."

"Same here," he replied, trying to be emotionless.

"Son."

Fabian nearly answered _Dad_, but bit his tongue as the word tried to emerge, "Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't really do much," Fabian snapped back, "Sorry is just an empty word."

"Yeah," his father mumbled, "But I didn't want to talk to you to ask for your forgiveness, because I don't deserve that, but I just want to try to be your dad again."

_Dad_. The word that Fabian had despised for so long, the word that made him flinch on Parent's Day, when everyone's family visited the boarding school. Fabian would just hide under his bed, covering his ears and refusing to see his family.

"You don't deserve the title dad, considering what you did. Why should I even come to see you?"

"Because a long held grudge is a burden that is not easy to bear," Richard cleared his throat, "As is guilt."

Everyone had always said that Fabian got his intelligence from his father, but that he got his kindness and courage from his mother.

"I'm glad you feel guilt, because what you did to me was _evil_," Fabian spat, "I remember hearing the doctors and therapists say _victim of child abuse _as they examined me, shaking their heads and watching me with pity, 'So young to have known such pain', they would say."

Silence on the other end.

"I looked that up, and guess what? I exactly fit the descriptions. _Physically beaten, loud verbal scolding, fearful of adults, unwilling to speak about experiences?_" Fabian recited, "And in that moment, I knew the full extent of what you did to me. Do you know what it's like, _bearing that kind of weight? _I couldn't tell anybody about it!" everything, every feeling was pouring out of him now, "Do you think I liked hurting Mom by not talking to her? I wished I could, but whenever I tried my throat would close up and I would see your hand, slapping me, swinging your fists at me, _beating _me," he laughed, a cold sound that was devoid of happiness, "Beating is the wrong word. Abused sounds like a technical term. You _scarred _me, is what you did. Now look out me, nearly seventeen and still hating you. I have so many scars. They're faded now, but they're never going to leave."

Fabian thought he heard crying on the other line but that didn't faze him, "No matter what happens, I will always be the boy that you left a mark on, because you left wounds so deep that they would always be there. I'm okay now, because there are things to be happy about, but there will always be these scars, to remind me of how cruel and vile you were."

"Son."

"I'm not your son, because _you aren't my dad_!"

There was a long sigh, "Fabian, family is important. No matter how awful of scarred family is important. And I think that if we talked this out, it would be easier for you to talk to your mother."

Now it was Fabian's turn to be silent.

"Yes, I spoke to Samantha. I don't know how, but she contacted me and asked if I would talk to you."

"How kind of you to want to repair your old family," Fabian said harshly.

Richard cringed, "Fabian, please. I just want you to be able to have your family."

"You broke it."

"I know, but you can put it back together."

There was no denying it, Richard was a wise man. But that did not mean that he made wise decisions or acted wisely.

Fabian let out a deep breath, "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

"Come over to my hotel room and we can talk. Then you can start working things out with your mother."

"And why do you think that this will help?"

"Because talking out our problems may help you. Do you still have the address?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll call you a cab and make sure there's a police escort. I'll see you soon."

Fabian hung up his mobile without saying goodbye. Then he slipped on his coat, grabbed the scarf his mother knitted him last Christmas for good luck, told Trudy he had to visit relatives, and slipped out. A cab was there, the driver impatiently honking his horn. A police officer sat in his car, giving Fabian a nod and turning on his car. Sliding into the back seat, Fabian watched the blur of the city pass by, looking particularly empty. He was glad that they didn't have to turn on the lights. When they arrived at the hotel, Fabian paid the driver and stepped outside, looking the building up and down.

This is where I'm going to see my father, he thought, heart beating faster, as he walked through the sliding doors.

"Is there a Richard Eaton here?" Fabian asked the hotel clerk.

"Third floor, room 25."

Thanking her, Fabian nervously stepped into the elevator, humming to himself as it went up, trying to calm his nerves. The door opened and he stepped out, searching for his father's room.

As he stood at the door, he hesitated. Should he just turn around and leave? But no, Fabian wanted to face his father. He had lived for so long with this weight on his chest, and now he was so close to breathing easier. So he knocked.

His father opened the door, and Fabian stared right into the face of the man he had hated for so many years. He still looked relatively the same, with the tousled brown hair that so closely resembled Fabian's, and a boyish face. But the long years had been hard to him, there were deep gray bags under his eyes and wrinkles creased his forehead.

"Fabian?" he said, with that same deep voice that once gave Fabian nightmares.

"May I come in?"

"Y-Yes," Richard awkwardly stepped out the way as Fabian entered in, noting how annoyingly empty the room was. One bed, a television, a white bathroom, and a small kitchen.

"So you've lived here how long?"

"A while."

"So what do we do now?" Fabian sat on the bed, making sure that every word was curt.

"We talk," his father sat beside him and Fabian stiffened.

"Let's just get it out in the open then," Fabian stared up at the ceiling, "I can't forgive you."

"Fabian-"

"Don't," Fabian shook his head, "Just don't."

Richard dipped his head, "Okay. Well what do you want to talk about?"

"Why did you do it? Why did you have to hurt me to feel better about yourself?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "My doctor said that I have anger issues, one moment I was fine, and the next I was standing over you, fist clenched."

"You knew exactly what you were doing. So don't lie to me. Maybe there's just something wrong with you, I don't know what it is, but I know that it hurt me for so many years."

"Fabian will you just let me try and explain myself?"

"Will you just stop trying?" Fabian stood up, yelling, "I'm so sick of your excuses. What you did isn't something you can just apologize over and we can just hug it out! I am not the same person because of you! And I will _never _forgive you for it!"

Standing above him, his father raised his voice, "You need to listen to me! I did a lot of awful things but I'm a changed man!"

"Changed man?" Fabian spat, "Somewhere, deep down there's still the man that punched me for _not making the damn football team!"_

"I couldn't control myself!" Richard was towering over Fabian again, just like he used to, but Fabian stood tall.

"_That's not true and you know it! _How am I supposed to forgive you, after what you did?"

"Maybe you shouldn't forgive me!" his father huffed, "Because you're still that boy, crying and whimpering just like you used to! You needed to toughen up and you don't get that through hugs and pats on the back!"

"So beating me was the answer? Yeah, I sure got my smarts from you, didn't I!"

"Don't you disrespect me!" he raised a warning finger at Fabian, "I'm still your father and you will obey me!"

"No I won't! Because _you are not my father and I am not your son!" _Fabian screamed.

Just as it had those many years ago, Richard swung wildly at his son but Fabian grabbed his arm, grunting as he forced it down. His father let out a yelp and stared at his son, wondering where his newfound strength came from.

"You will not control me anymore!" he yelled, "I am not a little kid anymore and you will _not touch me_. For so long you were in my nightmares, but now I am done with that. You do not scare me anymore, and I'm going to leave now," and with that, he turned around, not looking behind as he left his father, who was speechless.

As he left the hotel, the cab and police car were still waiting for him. As he stepped in, he felt so much better. It was like he had been carrying a backpack full of rocks and a massive rock had just been taken out.

He pressed his head against the window, staring and just thinking. He decided to call his home phone, and explained what had just happened to his mother. She cried and promised that she, his stepfather, and his two sisters would be there as soon as possible. When he got back, they were there sitting in the living room talking to Trudy. His mother grabbed him in a hug, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Fabian," she whispered, hiccupping.

"Hey mom," he said, letting himself hug her for once.

Katie nodded at him, but he decided to hug her too.

"What's up, little brother?" she asked, "Glad to really have you back now."

Lily ran up to Fabian and grinned at him, showing him that her front two teeth were missing.

"Hey kiddo," he ruffled her hair, a strange show of affection for him, "What do you want for Christmas?"

"All I want Christmas is my two front teeth!" she shouted, giggling. He picked her up and spun her around.

"Is that all?"

"I wrote Santa a really long list!"

"I bet you did," Fabian chuckled, setting her down and facing the rest of his family, "We need to talk."

They all sat down on the couch and Fabian told them everything, from when he was a kid to the most recent experience. His stepfather held his mother as she cried. Katie listened quietly, already knowing about the events of the past but what had happened today was news to her. Trudy tended Lily, who was too young to understand. By the time it was all done and they had talked it out, Fabian was crying too. Eventually Lily came back in and they all group hugged.

So after years of silence, the Rutter family was finally fully okay.

Nina came in by accident upon the hugging and crying family, turning to quickly exit but Fabian saw her.

Letting go of his family, Fabian smiled at her, "Hey Nina, this is my family."

Nina smiled back at Fabian and everybody uncomfortably, "Hi everyone."

For a second, Fabian worried that they would act confused, because he'd only ever mentioned Nina to Katie.

But luckily Katie took a step forward and hugged Nina, "Hi Nina! I'm Katie, Fabian's older and smarter sister. We've heard so much about you!"

Nina came out of the hug looking perplexed but less tense, "You have?"

"Of course, you're all we ever hear about from Fabian," his mother shook Nina's hand, lying through her teeth, "It's so nice to finally meet you! He said you were pretty but that's an insult, you're gorgeous!"

She blushed, "To be honest, I haven't heard a lot about you guys."

His stepfather clasped Fabian's shoulder, "Fabian was just trying to be modest, it's just that we are so great that he didn't want to brag.

Nina laughed, to Fabian's great relief.

Lily stepped out from behind her father, "You're Fabian's girlfriend?" she smiled, revealing her missing two front teeth.

"Yes, I am," Nina grinned at her, "And who are you?"

"I'm Lily," she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, "I'm Fabian's new sister?"

"New?"

Before anyone could stop her, Lily explained, "Fabian's mommy married my daddy and now she's she also gets to be my mommy. I got a sister and a brother too!"

Nina took a good long look at Fabian's family. He looked a lot like his mother, but her cheekbones were more prominent, her hair was darker, and her eyes were a sharper blue. His older sister Katie had the same brown hair, but it was curlier, and they shared the same warm smile. His stepfather had blonde hair and green eyes. Lily had her father's bright green eyes but she had bouncing ginger curls and spots of freckles.

"That's pretty cool," Nina said, "Most people don't get two extra siblings."

"I know! Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

She shook her head, "Nope, it's just me."

"I'll be your sister!" Lily smiled brightly.

"Sounds like a deal," Nina watched Fabian bite his lip but she grinned at him, assuring him it was okay.

"Do you want to come home for the holidays?" his mother asked Fabian.

"Er…no thanks," he declined, "For now there's lots of things to stay for," Fabian looked directly at Nina.

His stepfather and mother nodded understandingly, watching Fabian stare at his girlfriend.

"That's okay," his stepfather said, "But we got you a birthday present," he handed Fabian a small box, "Happy birthday tomorrow."

"We better be off," Fabian's mother said, kissing Fabian's forehead and giving him one last hug, "We love you, Fabian. And have a happy Christmas and birthday, we'll talk more when you come home."

Fabian hugged everyone once again, and they left, being very obvious as they excitedly pointed at Nina.

Laughing, Nina turned to her boyfriend, "What was all that about?"

"Just…a lot happened today, look and see," he tentatively showed her a few of his scars on his back.

"Fabian-" Nina's eyes were wide.

"It was my father," Fabian replied, for once his voice not cracking.

Nina stared out the window after his family, gasping slightly.

"No not him," he quickly corrected, "That's Ian, he's nice, and my step father. But my real father had…problems."

"Oh Fabian."

He shrugged, "Don't worry Nina, I don't really want to talk about it now. But just know that I'm okay now, better now, even."

She nodded, "Okay. We don't have to say anything, if you don't want to. But everyone's going sledding...want to come?"

"Let's go," he grinned.

* * *

A few hours later back at the house, Trudy clapped her hands, "I hope you all had a fun time sledding! Now who wants hot cocoa?"

After a chorus of me's and I do's she laughed, "I guess I'll just make everybody one!"

"Extra marshmallows for mine?" pleaded Eddie.

"Of course lovely!" she ruffled his hair motherly, "I'm guessing that everyone wants extra marshmallows then."

"And whipped cream?" Alfie begged and Trudy just laughed, promising to do all of these things as she headed into the kitchen.

As she began to prepare the drinks for everybody she turned on the radio to listen to music but no such luck.

"Oh, I wanted to listen to Christmas music but all of the radio stations are empty!" Trudy sighed unhappily.

"Is there a problem with the hot cocoa?" Mara peeked her head in the kitchen.

"No dearie, it's just that I wanted to listen to Christmas music but I can't!"

"Well I could play some if you wanted," Mara offered, getting the idea from hearing her friends sing some weird song last night. Anyway, she had wanted to sing Christmas carols!

"That'd be just lovely, but with what?" asked Trudy.

"There's an old piano in the cellar," Mara continued, "if somebody could just help me lift it up then I could play it for everyone up here."

Mara remembered finding the piano.

_She was searching for Joy last semester and was going to ask her about the math homework. Joy was nowhere to be found so she went down into the cellar finally, as a last resort. She called out her name but to no avail. Mara sighed and went to go back but she bumped into a large item and as a result of the collision dust flew everywhere. Coughing, Mara uncovered the sheet from the large item and to her surprise found a piano. It was old but as her fingers danced lightly on the keys, she knew it was perfect. Her parents had made her practice as a younger child, but she had lost interest as she grew older. But her hands felt familiar as she played and remembered why she had fell in love with this instrument in the first place. _

"That's a lovely idea!" Trudy cried, "Go tell some of the boys to get it up here and play it pronto!"

Mara giggled and ran back into the living room, "I thought it would be a good idea if we could have some Christmas music and the other day I found a piano in the cellar."

"Can you play?" Fabian asked, "Because I have my guitar."

"I can sing!" Joy added in.

"We've got our band then," said Mara gleefully, "Now who wants to help get the piano upstairs?"

Eddie and Mick said they would and with a bit of strength and sweat the two boys finally got the piano upstairs. Fabian grabbed his guitar out of his room and Joy loosened her vocal chords.

Mara sifted through the old journals and books in the cellar until she finally came across the piano books.

"Property of Sarah Frobisher-Smythe," she read aloud as she collected the first Christmas book she saw.

Mara dashed upstairs with the piano book and announced she was ready. She sat down on the piano bench, pulled out the Christmas book, chose _O Holy Night_, and began to play.

The rest of Anubis house had been chatting amongst themselves but when she started playing they all quieted. Her fingers ran across the keys, striking each one with precision and majesty.

Fabian sat down with his guitar and joined in, strumming chords, drawing out Mara's piano playing and adding to the overall sound.

Joy cleared her throat.

"_O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,  
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.  
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.  
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.  
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,  
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.  
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!"_

Her voice was beautiful and it rang out, filling up the room with the sounds of Christmas.

Trudy slowly brought in the hot chocolate and everyone sipped quietly, awestruck by their peer's talents.

"_O night divine, the night when Christ was born;  
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!  
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!"_ she sang.

Amber rested her head against Alfie's shoulder as they sat and listened. Patricia and Eddie were leaning against each other on the couch, eyes closed and hands held. Mick watched Joy, fascinated at how marvelously she could sing. Nina gave Fabian encouraging smiles and was sitting by the fireplace with a blanket covering her.

"_Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,  
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.  
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,  
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.  
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;  
In all our trials born to be our friends.  
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,  
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!  
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!"_

As Trudy listened to the kids, a few teardrops fell down her face. Even Victor could hear the music from his office and he was motionless, completely captivated by the beauty of it.

"_Truly He taught us to love one another,  
His law is love and His gospel is peace.  
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.  
And in his name all oppression shall cease.  
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,  
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.  
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,  
His power and glory ever more proclaim!  
His power and glory ever more proclaim!"_

Joy sang and the final note echoed all through the room and those that were listening exhaled slowly, deeply moved by the music.

"_Joy to the World , the Lord is come!"_ Fabian sang as he played the guitar, grinning at Joy, and everyone was pleasantly surprised because Fabian didn't normally do this.

_"Let earth receive her King  
Let every heart prepare Him room," _Joy harmonized with him.

_"And Heaven and nature sing,  
And Heaven and nature sing,  
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing," _Mara joined in. No one had ever her sing before and they were taken aback at how beautiful her singing voice sounded.

The trio's voices made for an elegant and fantastic sound that brought a warm spirit to all listening.

"_Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!  
Let men their songs employ;  
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains  
Repeat the sounding joy,  
Repeat the sounding joy,  
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy."_

Everyone forget their problems and just enjoyed the Christmas music. It was a time of peace and happiness, despite all that was to come. The melodies of Christmas drowned out their sorrows and fears.

"_No more let sins and sorrows grow,  
Nor thorns infest the ground;  
He comes to make His blessings flow  
Far as the curse is found,  
Far as the curse is found,  
Far as, far as, the curse is found."_

"_He rules the world with truth and grace,  
And makes the nations prove  
The glories of His righteousness,  
And wonders of His love,  
And wonders of His love,  
And wonders, wonders, of His love."_

As everyone applauded, the three bowed, happy to share their musical talents.

"One more song," begged Amber, and Alfie nodded vigorously beside her.

"_Have yourself a merry little Christmas_,_" _Eddie began quietly.

"_Let your heart be light_," Patricia sang along.

Mara grinned and started playing the song on the piano energetically and Fabian added in his guitar.

_"From now on,_

_our troubles will be out of sight_

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Make the Yule-tide gay,_

_From now on, _

_our troubles will be miles away," _everyone sang.

Even Victor came out from his cave and quietly sang along with the children.

"_Here we are as in olden days,_

_Happy golden days of yore._

_Faithful friends who are dear to us_

_Gather near to us once more."_

"_Through the years _

_We all will be together,_

_If the Fates allow," _Nina sang, a tear cascading down her cheek as she watched her friends.

It was true though, after this Christmas she would only have one Christmas left at Anubis house, then they would graduate. And who knows what would happen during college? Would they be able to be get together? Only if they were lucky, she thought, Because friends like these only come once in a lifetime. So she just smiled, leaning closer to Amber and singing louder than ever, cherishing the moment.

"_Hang a shining star upon the highest bough._

_And have yourself A merry little Christmas now."_

All clapped and cheered loudly, just positively beaming with absolute happiness.

"That was so wonderful!" cried Trudy, wiping a few tears from her face.

"I didn't know you could sing Fabian," Nina said, "That was beautiful."

"Only on special occasions," Fabian blushed.

"Ditto that," added Mara.

Mick came up to Joy and grinned, "Joy to the world, you sure a brilliant singer."

Joy flushed, "Thanks."

"It really feels like Christmas now," gushed Amber.

"Perhaps so Miss Millington," everyone did a double-take because Victor was there and not sulking in his office.

"Were you here the whole time?" asked Alfie.

"I was listening the entire time Mr. Lewis," said Victor, "Now goodnight to all."

He bid them farewell and left for his office.

"Maybe your singing is magical," laughed Patricia, "Because Bahumbug Victor over there has never done anything like that before."

"You touched his three sizes too small heart," Eddie pretended to wipe a tear away.

"Oh hush now," laughed Trudy, "Now you see that Victor does have a heart."

"Deep down though," added Fabian.

"Maybe so," continued Trudy, smiling slightly, "But he's not all that bad, see? Well sleep tight everyone!"

They all departed from the living room, the Christmas spirits blazing warm in their hearts.

* * *

**Wooo angsty and fluffy chapter. Hope you like it, despite the fact that these chapters are written at night. So sorry that these chapters are getting uploaded late, life is getting busy. Not a lot of Sibuna in this chapter, but lots of Fabian. Luckily tomorrow is the last day of school for the year and not a lot going on in classes. There may be no new chapter until Saturday, we'll just see. Goodnight to all and let's get 5 reviews until next chapter.**


	11. One Wish & A Fire Caught in a Storm

**December 21: One Wish**

That morning everyone was furiously preparing for Fabian's birthday party. Patricia was hanging balloons and streamers, making sure that they were all in place. Joy was adding the finishing touches to the cake and was currently adding a few cherries to the top. Amber and Alfie were neatly wrapping Fabian's presents. Mara was running about, shouting instructions at everyone. Trudy and Mick were distracting Fabian with a bit of grocery shopping.

However, Nina and Eddie's jobs were done, so they sat in the library, deciding that it was time to try and figure out when the descendant was vulnerable to the mental one.

But after a miserable hour of learning nothing, Eddie checked his phone, noticing how the time for the party was growing nearer.

Finally, he shut his book and stood up, "I'm going to head, to start Fabian's surprise party. See you there soon?"

"Mhmmm," Nina said, not looking up from her book.

He left and Nina continued searching, scanning through books about Cleopatra for any mention of the world vulnerable. She also checked her phone, sighing at how slowly time seemed to be passing. So she shut off her phone in hopes that not checking the time constantly would make it go by faster. Nina wanted to be very focused on her task so she grabbed the massive headphones leftover from an old exhibit, gathered a pile of Cleopatra books, and found a remote corner of the library where the sun slanted in from the window just right. Then Nina got to work.

* * *

"Where's Nina?" Amber asked, worriedly realizing that the time was 15 minutes to noon.

"I've tried calling her mobile but it just goes straight to voicemail," Mara bit her lip, "She's cutting is really close."

"Last time I saw her she was in the library," Eddie finished tying a balloon, "I'll go see if she's still there."

He thrust the balloon into Patricia's hand and left for the library. When he got there, Eddie peeked his head inside, but Nina wasn't where he had left her. There was not even a reply when he tried shouting her name. Eddie even went so far as to look around for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, he departed, supposing that she was probably in her room or somewhere else at the house. So he checked everywhere. She was not in her room, the attic, the cellar, the tunnels, or anywhere!

"I can't find Nina," he announced to everyone after his search.

"Maybe something came up?" Alfie suggested.

"What would come up that would cause her to miss this?" Patricia frowned, thinking that this was very unlike Nina. Perhaps it had something to do with Sibuna, she thought.

"I'm sure she'll turn up," Joy said, putting away her apron.

"There are 5 minutes until Fabian gets here," Mara shook her head, "Where could she be?"

Suddenly, they heard a rumbling sound, one that could only mean that the garage was opening. Trudy and Mick had brought Fabian back too early!

"Quick, everybody hide!" hissed Mara, hastily turning off the lights and concealing herself behind the couch.

Everyone quickly dived into hiding spots and patiently waited for Fabian's arrival.

The door creaked open and Trudy stepped in, follow by Mick and Fabian who were lugging a load of grocery bags.

"It's really weird being escorted by police officers," Mick remarked, setting down his bags on the counter top.

"They're just safety precautions," Fabian closed the door behind them, "Who turned out the lights?"

Trudy put away the keys, "Fabian will you be a dear and put away the eggs?"

"Sure," he snatched the egg carton and turned on the lights, about to open the refrigerator.

"SURPRISE!" Everybody screamed, jumping out of hiding excitedly.

Fabian nearly dropped the eggs in shock, "You all scared the life out of me!"

"Happy birthday Fabian!" Mara cried.

"Thanks for telling us," Patricia muttered.

He blushed, "Er, sorry guys. I just didn't want to make a big deal about it."

"It's your birthday!" Amber squealed, "You're allowed to make a fuss!"

Laughing, Fabian shoved the eggs into the fridge and turned to his friends, "I guess you're right. Thanks guys!" his eyes scanned through the room, eyeing the lovely decorations, his friends, and disappointedly realizing that Nina was not among the crowd, "The place looks great!"

Trudy hugged Fabian, "I can't believe that you're growing up so fast! I remember when you all were 11 years old," she laughed in remembrance, "And now you're all nearly a year away from being adults. It makes me feel so old!"

"Aw Trudes, you don't look a day over 28," Mick said.

"Now let's open presents!" Mara swung her arm around Fabian and led him into the living room.

He sat down on the chair and grinned at everyone, trying not to show how cheerless he felt about Nina's absence.

"Mine first, here you go Fabes!" Joy eagerly handed Fabian his presents.

"You guys didn't need to get me anything, I already got your Christmas presents!"

"Dude, just open them," urged Alfie.

Fabian unwrapped the present, revealing a new set of books that he'd been wanting, "Whoa! I've been definitely yearning to read these."

"Oh I almost forgot," Fabian grabbed a box from the table, "My parents gave this to me yesterday!" To his great surprise, it turned out to be an iPhone.

"Man you must have great parents," Mick whistled.

"I sure do."

Next, he unwrapped a set of DVDs from Mara that had the title _Sherlock _on them, "Hey I've heard about these, aren't they the modern day remakes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holes? I do love those books!"

She nodded, "It's from the people who made Doctor Who so I'm sure you'll love them!"

Then he got a really interesting book about Chemistry from Mick, a mug from Amber and Alfie that had this engraved on it, "Most problems are solved with a good cuppa", a new snowboarding jacket from Patricia and Eddie, an assortment of chocolates from Trudy, and last of all a really amazing chess set.

He held it up for everyone to view, "This is a fantastic present! Look at the pieces, they're all mini rubik's cubes, how cool is that? Now go on, who got this for me?" he grinned.

"It was from Nina," Alfie answered hesitantly.

"Where is Nina anyway?"

"Um," Eddie looked down at the ground, "We don't know."

"Oh."

"Time for the birthday boy to eat his cake!" Joy quickly interrupted, dragging everyone into the kitchen where she unveiled her cherry chocolate cake.

"My favorite kind," Fabian licked his lips, smiling at his friends warmly, "You guys are the best."

Patricia practically shoved Fabian down into the chair in front of the cake as Trudy lit the candles.

Fabian stared at all 17 of them, wondering how he managed to deserve such great friends. But the thing he thought about most now was Nina. Where was she? How could she not be here?

Mick turned off the lights and the candles illuminated the kitchen, casting a dim glow on Fabian's face.

"Blow out the candles and make a wish," Amber encouraged.

He stared at the cake, with its chocolate frosting and the words _Happy Birthday Fabian _in red writing, cherries placed everywhere. Then he glanced at his friends. Alfie had his arm around Amber, Patricia and Eddie stood next to each other, hands clasped in the dark, Mick, Joy, and Trudy were holding cups, plates, and forks, nodding at him to get on with it, and last of was Mara, with her head slightly tilted as she began to sing.

"_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday dear Fabian…_

_Happy birthday to you!"_

So as they sang, Fabian took a deep breath, wishing that Nina could have been there. He blew out the candles and everyone clapped. Despite his happy demeanor, he still felt a tinge of sadness because Nina was not there. But perhaps there was more to the story, so for now he just enjoyed the cake and company.

Eddie came over to Fabian as Joy sliced the cake, "I'm sorry Nina's not here. I swear to you, the last time I saw her was in the library."

"It's alright," he lied, "Maybe she just got busy."

They both nodded, but they were still unconvinced by Fabian's words.

* * *

Grinning, Nina triumphantly slammed her book shut. She had just figured out the descendant's vulnerable time! She thought it was pretty great, especially considering the fact that she had done it entirely by herself. Nina had been hoping that Eddie would have come back to help her out, but he had never shown up. He's just lazy, she thought bitterly, Probably spent the whole day doing dumb things with Patricia. Not even any of the Sibunas had came to help her. What was the point in having them if they were no help at all?

Either way, Nina had done it all by herself.

She had found the answer while she was reading about Cleopatra's life, and read about an instance when Cleopatra was giving birth to twins. They were born on December 25, but a day earlier she had been really sick, and everyone thought that she was going to die. The word vulnerable was mentioned a lot, so this got Nina thinking. From then on, she remembered a lesson that Mr. Winkler had taught them about numerology, and had the idea to figure out what was Cleopatra's number. When she did her birth date it was a 2, and when she did the day she died it turned out to be a 4. At this point she was thinking that the idea that it could be the 24th of December was starting to be confirmed. But then, she continued reading in the earlier book it and it said that she was sick from the seventh hour of the day until the very next day. Nina thought that the 7th hour meant 7 am, but in Cleopatra's time it actually meant noon. So then Nina realized that the descendant's vulnerable time was on December 24th from noon to midnight.

The door creaked open and Nina looked up to see Eddie walking in.

"Where were you?" she asked, still feeling bitter.

"The better question is where we _you_?" he inquired.

"Where was I?" she scoffed, "I was in here, actually doing research so we can protect the descendant!"

"How noble of you," he scowled, "You shouldn't have been in here-"

"What are you talking about? We have things to do and you wasted the whole day!"

"Wasted? I was-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses," she snapped, "I just think that next time you should try to remember that there are lives at stake here."

"I know that!" he said, his voice growing slightly louder, "Do you think I'd just abandon Sibuna?"

"For all I know you could've!"

"Do you really think that poorly of me?"

"You're not always dependable."

"Dependable? I'm new to this Nina! I have a lot of my plate!"

"You're my yang and I needed you!" Nina yelled, "And don't think that you're the only one who is busy!"

"I'm not your slave Nina I have a life, okay?! Just let me try to enjoy myself for once!" he screamed back.

"Don't you get it?! We were chosen for a purpose! The descendant needs us and they're going to die because you wanted to have some quality time with your girlfriend!" spat Nina.

"Of course you would think that, you're neglecting your boyfriend! How can you not see that he needs you?" Eddie shouted, "And anyways I wasn't even with Patricia!"

"Why are you even bringing Fabian up?!"

"Because he's my friend and I know that he misses you!"

Nina opened her mouth to scream back at him but his words caught her off guard. Fabian missed her? How could you miss someone that you were always with?

Like usual, Eddie could practically read her thoughts, "He misses the old Nina, the one who would take the time to be with him instead of being involved in this mystery, the one who used to talk to him all the time, that Nina."

Nina let the words sink in. He was right. She hadn't been meaning to avoid Fabian, but she had just got so caught up in protecting the descendant that she had stopped trying to make time for him.

"He misses the Nina who didn't forget his birthday." Eddie added quietly.

"Oh no," Nina dashed from the library and into the kitchen as quickly as she could, but found it to be empty. There were shreds of wrapping paper, scattered plates, empty cups, and fragment of a chocolate frosted cake. She could still make out the "Fab" in which she assumed had said "Happy Birthday Fabian". She let out a deep sigh when she viewed the leftover candles.

"Nina?"

Nina whipped around to see Fabian standing there with a heartbreaking expression strewn across his face.

"Fabian I'm so sorry I was just doing some more research in the library and I completely forgo-"

"It's alright," Fabian sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Protecting the descendant is more important than my birthday party."

"Don't say that," said Nina, "_You _are the most important thing to me and I cannot believe I forgot about this. Especially considering everything that you told me about yesterday…and I just…abandoned you."

"Hey, you're just overwhelmed with all of this-"

"That doesn't matter!" Nina began to raise her voice, "I'm getting so caught up in all of this descendant stuff that I'm forgetting about you!"

He just looked down to the ground and said nothing, because both of them knew it was true.

"I promise I'll be there next time," she vowed, squeezing his hands.

"It's okay," he gave her an unconvincing smile.

"Night Fabian," she said quietly, quickly pecking him on the lips.

The kiss was forced and full of words left unspoken. They both left for their rooms, neither wanting to speak to the other. Fabian was miserable and disappointed, Nina felt shame sear through her heart.

I've let down the person I care most about in the world on his birthday. What is this quest turning me into? She thought glumly, I'm the worst girlfriend ever.

Amber came into the room and sat by Nina on her bed.

"You missed Fabian's party."

"I was doing research," Nina sighed, not that it helped.

"He understands," Amber tried.

"Doesn't make it any better."

"No, it doesn't," Amber said wisely, the cold, hard truth stinging Nina's heart.

"No, it doesn't," Nina agreed.

"You two can figure this out, I know you can," urged Amber, hugging Nina tightly, "You've just got to."

"I want to fix it, I just don't know how."

"You'll find a way," Amber smiled encouragingly at her best friend when they broke away from the hug.

"Thanks Amber," Nina smiled slightly and she turned off the light, slipping into bed.

"That's what best friends are for."

Nina slept restlessly, barely even staying asleep for more than a few minutes. Eventually she gave up, snatched a blanket from her bed, and went into the living room to sit by the fireplace.

After a while she heard creaking noises, as if someone was walking across the floor boards and she stood on edge, hoping that Victor wasn't on the prowl.

But it was Joy who stepped out of the kitchen, holding a cup of tea, also covered in a blanket.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Joy asked.

"Not at all," she shook her head.

"So…where were you today?"

"Research," Nina bowed her head guiltily, hating to have to explain this to everyone.

"Oh. That's too bad…"

"To put it lightly, yeah."

"He really missed you," Joy took a long drink from the cup.

"So I've heard."

"Maybe you can make it up to him?" she suggested hopefully.

"That's all I want to do. I just…I wish I could redo this whole day over again. I didn't know I could mess up so many times in one day."

"There, there," Joy patted Nina's back, "He'll forgive you."

"I don't deserve his forgiveness. Maybe I should just…I don't know."

"We accept the love we think we deserve," Joy quoted.

Smiling, Nina laughed, "I'm glad I'm not the only who likes that book."

"Have you seen the movie yet?" Joy said excitedly.

"No but I want to, hey maybe we could see it together!" Nina grinned, happy to take her mind off Fabian.

"It's a date," Joy giggled.

"Who would've thought that we'd end up friends?"

"Not me, that's for sure."

Nina laughed and sighed, "What I did to you was so dumb last year."

"Ditto," Joy added, shaking her head, "How times have changed…"

"Luckily for us they changed for the better."

Nina nodded and changed the subject, "So what's up with you and Mick these days? Or as Amber would call it, _Moy_?"

"_Moy_?" Joy choked on her tea. After a coughing fit she regained her composure, "Sorry but there is no Moy."

"Really?" Nina asked incredulously, "But you two are always doing stuff together and acting so…"

"So what?" Joy cried.

"Coupley," Nina finished, shrugging.

"No," Joy said it again, "No." Want to hear it in a song? Nooooo," she sang.

Chuckling, Nina threw her hands up, "Alright so there's _nothing _going on between you two?"

Joy shook her head, "Nothing! I've just been trying to help him get over Mara."

"Consider the way he acts around you he's already gotten over Mara," teased Nina.

"Nina!"

Giggling, Nina sighed dramatically, "After so _graciously _helped Mick with his heartbreak over Mara, you two fell in love along the way. Sounds like a chick flick you would watch at a sleepover."

"Rom-Com," Joy corrected, _Americans_, "But that's beside the point! We are not in _love_, we're _friends_."

"Don't deny your heart's desire, but wait!" Nina gasped loudly, "Have you friend zoned him? Poor Mick! It was all going so well for him…"

"You can't send someone to the buddy bench that you were never stepping out with," Joy snarled.

Nina burst out laughing and fell to the ground in a fit of giggles, "Will Mick be able to win Joy's heart before she friend zones him forever? Don't miss this new movie, out in theatres January 1st!" she managed to choke out through the giggles.

"Nina!" Joy cried, "This isn't funny!"

"Actually, it is. Your life is a romantic comedy now," she covered her mouth to keep the giggles from coming out.

"Mick. And. I. Are. Not. Together."

"The words that broke his heart," tears of laughter began to pour from Nina's eyes.

"You are the worst," Joy laughed, throwing a pillow from the couch at Nina, who buried her face in it to quiet the unstoppable laughter and snorts coming from her mouth.

"I can barely stand to watch the scenes where you two aren't together yet."

"It's not..we're not..you're impossible Nina!" Joy started giggling now too, and collapsed to the floor beside Nina.

"The Joys of Being a Mick," Nina cried through laughter, "Coming to a theatre near you!"

That was the straw the broke the camel's back, the two girls were laughing hysterically, unable to keep quiet anymore.

Victor heard their laughter and furiously stormed into the living room.

"Why are you two up so late making such a ruckus?" he demanded.

"Ruckus," Joy repeated, giggling and Nina joined in.

"Be quiet!" Victor cried and the two bit their lips, forcing the laughter bubbling up inside to not come out.

"Now answer me this," Victor continued, "Why are you up so late?"

"We were just," Nina looked directly at Joy, hardly able to control herself, "Talking about a new movie that's about to come out."

Joy slammed her face into a pillow, not sure if she could take another second of this.

"Miss Mercer, look at me when I am talking to you?"

Slowing bringing her head up, Joy looked into Victor's eyes with tears streaming down her face, holding her thumb in her mouth to stop from giggling.

"Are you…crying?" Victor asked, puzzled.

"Yes!" Joy cried and burst into laughter, making Nina join in until the two were back to their loud laughing.

Victor shook his head, "It is too late for this nonsense. To bed, the both of you!"

They both stood up and quickly left and luckily the giggles went with them, leaving the noise at a much more reasonable level for Victor.

Joy and Nina collapsed onto Nina's bed, both were an utter fit of giggles.

"You know what else is funny?" Amber groaned sleepily, "The fact that for once I went to bed at a decent time."

Finally, when their laughter ceased Joy began to depart from Nina and Amber's room.

Nina wiped a tear from her face, "I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my entire life."

"Me neither," Joy admitted.

"But you never answered my question," Nina pointed out, "What's up with you and Mick?"

"I dunno," Joy twirled a stray piece of hair in her finger and grinned, "The best romantic comedy of the year says the New York Times, a masterpiece among chick flicks and a must see."

"Maybe it's the start of something new," smiled Nina.

"That would be nice," Joy said, beaming back, "Well I better get to bed before Victor comes back."

They bid their goodbyes and Nina felt a little lighter and happier as she went to bed. Sometimes, you do stupid things and it takes a lot of fixing before it's okay again. But sometimes, it'll all get better. Sometimes, there are amazing people who can make you laugh, even when you don't think you can. Sometimes, people forgive you, even if you do something unforgiveable. Sometimes, people surprise you and are actually fantastic.

Nina knew that it was going to be okay and she could work it out with Fabian.

Because Joy Mercer forgave her, and that night she had caused Nina to have a fit of laughter, something she previously would have never thought could happen.

Sometimes people save your life, even if it's in the strangest of ways.

* * *

_He was looking up, at a starless sky._

_Wondering what had happened to all those beautiful stars, he decided to start walking. But he didn't know where he was, where he was going, or where he'd been. It was official, he was lost._

_But up in the sky, he saw the stars again! No wait, they were words. Scratch that, they were words made out of stars._

_Stars lights the way for Osiris' journey._

Eddie woke up, feeling very perplexed, but he knew that upstairs Nina had just dreamt about the exact same thing.

* * *

_Another sleepless night._

_There's that man again._

_He's holding a snake this time._

_There's screaming, there's blood, what is happening?_

_A mirror, a flash of someone's face. Is it mine?_

_A crowd of screaming people._

_A throne._

_What do these dreams mean?_

_And the word descendant, why does that word keep popping up?_

_The dreams continue as the days grow colder and shorter._

* * *

**December 22: A Fire Caught in a Storm**

Things were looking up for the Sibuna gang. They knew who the mental one was, when the descendant would be vulnerable and needing protection, and many other things. But there were still things they needed to figure out. Who was the descendant and how were they going to protect that person?

After a long morning of talking to everyone, Nina was, quite frankly, sick and tired of not knowing things.

Earlier, she and Eddie had told all of Sibuna about their shared dream. Nobody had a clue of what it meant.

Now she, Fabian, and Eddie were in Nina's room, discussing what they should do next. But Nina didn't even want to be there, what with all the tension between her and Fabian. She had missed his birthday party and had realized that she'd been neglecting him lately, and now she had no idea how to fix things.

Finally, Nina let out an exasperated sigh, "How about we quit talking and do what we always do? Go to the library and look for anything about stars and Osiris."

Eddie frowned, "Don't you hate doing that? It's all we ever do anymore!"

"It's better than last term," she muttered, "Facing a deadly obstacle everyday got kind of monotonous as well."

"It'd be better than this."

"Either way," Nina snapped, "The library is our best option. Books are the key, remember?"

"I'll do it," Fabian volunteered, "I haven't done much research lately. How horrendous can it be?"

Nina realized that this was her opportunity to make it up with Fabian.

"Hey," she smiled at him, "I'll go with you."

"Do you want me to come with you guys?" asked Eddie.

"No we'll be fine," Fabian assured him, thinking that if Eddie came along it would just drive a larger wedge between him and Nina.

"Whatever," Eddie shrugged, leaving Nina's room.

"How about after lunch we go and research?" Nina suggested.

"Great," he tried to sound enthusiastic but they both knew that he wasn't.

* * *

Eddie was in the living room, about to eat a Spaghetti Bolognese Hoagie, when Mara came in looking very dismayed.

"What's the problem?" he asked, wiping sauce off with his sleeve.

"First of all you can be sanitary," Mara sat beside him, "And second of all you can tell me what I should get the Clarkes for Christmas!"

"You already gave Jerome a present, why does he need another?"

"No it's for his family!" Mara shoved her laptop into Eddie's lap, showing him various items from a website, "Would they like a set of matching socks that have their name sewed onto them? Or a set of mugs with their faces on them?"

"Those are all horrible ideas," he laughed, "You could get them some Christmas sweaters, they clearly have none and we have some to spare."

"Eddie, this is a serious situation!"

"Oh fine, calm down," he set down his sandwich and seriously thought about it, "What if you just got Jerry's family a book of pictures? Like a scrapbook, or whatever? I'm sure that they don't have a lot of recent pictures so just get a ton of old ones from Jerome and Poppy and put them together in a book sort of thing."

"That's so smart!" she cried, "Oh and it'll be so much cuter since it'll be homemade!"

"Yep," he took a huge bite of his sandwich, noodles spilling everywhere.

"Did you ever see that ghost thing again?" Mara asked tentatively, "The one for the article?"

Eddie nearly choked on his sandwich, "Nah. That was probably just a hoax or something."

"Are you sure because-" luckily Joy came into the living room and Mara said, "Joy! I was just talking to Eddie about the Jackal…" the two launched into a discussion about the Jackal's upcoming plans for next year.

Sighing, Eddie tried returning to his lunch, "I am so glad that I'm done with the Jackal."

Mara and Joy both turned to him, both looking very hurt.

"What?" he asked.

"You're quitting the Jackal?" Joy cried, "But you were so good at it!"

"Exactly! It took so much effort!"

"But you can't quit," Mara pleaded, "We need you!"

"You two can manage," he scoffed, "You're determined, hardworking females and I'm a lazy, incapable male."

"Eddie you're a great writer though," Joy said, "Not a lot of people have that natural kind of talent!"

"Natural talent, eh?" he smirked.

Mara nodded, "Of course! When you actually apply yourself and follow the deadlines you really make a great article!"

"Oh fine, I won't quit," he assured the girls.

"I knew I could count on you!" Mara grinned, and started to tell Eddie everything that she wanted to be in the Jackal 2013 edition.

Eddie groaned and set his now cold sandwich aside, already regretting his decision.

* * *

Luckily, research was an activity that didn't require much talking. So Nina and Fabian had settled into a comfortable silence as they read through books, occasionally talking to their partner about what they had just found.

For now, Nina thought, things seemed to be okay between her and Fabian. They hadn't discussed yesterday's events and were even acting relatively normal.

"Here it is," Fabian slapped his book, grinning victoriously at it, "I think I've got it."

"You said that two hours ago," she laughed, "And before that...four hours ago."

"No I've really got it this time!" he assured her.

"Well read it aloud then," she was still unconvinced, but he might as well try.

"Okay so Osiris would make a trip to the underworld every year, for 70 days. And the stars Orion and Sirius were not visible for the 70 that he was gone. So when he came back, those two stars would guide him back to the other Gods."

"You've actually got it!" she cried, high fiving him, "So Orion and Sirius are the stars that guide Osiris's journey, now what?"

"And…that's it. Now we're stuck again."

Giggling, she tried to reach for his hand under the table but he awkwardly slipped his hand away. She blushed and put her hand on the table, clenching her fist.

"Er sorry," he mumbled.

"No it's okay," she relaxed her hand and sighed, "Should we tell the others?"

"We haven't got much to tell," he shook his head, "We figured out the riddle but it didn't lead us to the next one."

"I guess you're right," she twiddled with her thumbs, "I hate this. I hate being so close to the descendant's vulnerable date and not getting any closer to understanding anything else."

"We can just wait," he offered, "I like the library and I like…" the unspoken words were _being with you _but Fabian held them back, because this moment wouldn't last, as soon as they were back at the house she'd be with Eddie again.

"Okay," Nina resorted to staring out the window. As she did this, her vision turned fuzzy and her mind slipped away into a dream.

_She gently touched his cheek, "I am so grateful to have this night with you, my love."_

_He grabbed her hand and led her to the window, "Look out and see the stars, the Gods are shining upon us tonight."_

"_I wonder what it is like," she mused, "Being with the Gods. Will it be a life of paradise?"_

"_I would think so. But why must you worry about such things? Enjoy the night with me, Amneris, for our time together is short."_

_Nodding, she kept staring up at the stars, "I fear that we are blessed with such a beautiful night, that the only reason I would turn away is to look at you," she looked to him and their eyes locked._

_He whispered, "I have the same feeling, but to me, your eyes are the stars."_

_She laughed lightly, "They say that the Gods have stars for eyes."_

"_Then you must be a goddess, or at least, my goddess._

"_They also say that eyes are the windows to the soul, but where do stars lead us?_

"_Stars tell us things, they whisper prophecies."_

"_Perhaps stars are the windows to the beyond."_

"_Perhaps so," he leaned closer to her, "But for tonight, your eyes are the stars and I want to drown in the stars."_

Wincing, Nina rubbed her head. What did the vision mean? It was obviously Amneris, but who was she with?

"Are you okay?" Fabian asked.

"I'm fine," she closed her eyes and opened them, trying to be more alert, "I'm just so…stressed. Will we ever be able to figure this out?"

"Don't worry Nina," Fabian reassured her, "We're Sibuna, we can do anything!"

"I hope so. Christmas Eve is almost here and we still need to find out who the descendant even is."

"We will."

"I hope you're right."

"I usually am," joked Fabian, hoping to make Nina smile. She did, but it was a small one.

Nina stood up and absentmindedly skimmed through the books until she came across one with hieroglyphics on it. She picked it up and blew a bit of dust off of the cover. Flipping through the page, she found nothing helpful. Finally she came across a page labeled _Connected Souls._

It was a short paragraph and as Nina read it she came across something that almost made her heart stop.

_Throughout the centuries, it was said that the Paragon and Osirian were destined to be soulmates. All over history is evidence suggesting that when one of these two connected beings died, the other wandered, lost without their one true love._

Nina nearly dropped the book in shock.

"What's wrong?" Fabian asked.

But she could not tell him. She didn't have the guts to tear him apart and break his heart. She could only shake her head, ripping the page out of the book. Nina ran back to the house, hoping that Fabian wouldn't follow her.

* * *

Nina found Eddie on his bed, peacefully napping.

Furiously, she shook him until he got up.

"What the heck Nina? I was trying to sleep!" he rubbed his eyes, "Never interrupt a sleeping Eddie."

"This is more important than that!" she snapped.

"What's the big deal?" he groaned, but she thrust the torn page into his hands.

After a while he gulped, "We're supposed to be…soulmates?"

"Apparently so," Nina sat by him on the bed, brought her knees up and lay her head on her knees.

Eddie was getting closer to Nina, "The ones with the connection. Connected through…love?"

"Connected by bloodline," Nina whispered slowly and mechanically, without looking directly into Eddie's eyes.

He leaned into Nina, closer than she would have normally let him come and she stared deep into his eyes.

He was so different from Fabian. Fabian was so soft and kind, with his peaceful expressions, goofy mannerisms, and tender blue eyes. While Fabian was calm and kind Eddie was loud and forceful. She loved Fabian and it she felt so lucky to have him in her life. But despite the book she had found in the library, she did not think of Eddie as her soul mate. She was not attracted to him at all, he was Eddie. Not someone she wanted to spend her life with or love. He was her protector, not her soul mate. The book from the Frobisher library must have had it all wrong. But the problem was, if she was meant to be soul mates with Eddie, why did she feel that she loved Fabian? She knew with all of her heart that she loved Fabian and did not love Eddie. But why were they meant to be soulmates? Nina felt confused about everything.

Eddie took advantage of Nina being wrapped up in her thoughts and leaned in closer and kissed her.

Nina jerked away from Eddie, "Why did you do that?" she demanded.

"Nina, I don't know. I thought I was in love with Patricia but what if we're meant to be soul mates?"

"But what if it's wrong? Eddie I'm not attracted to you at all…I love Fabian!" she felt ready to pull her hair out.

"I'm confused about my feelings too. You're more like my sister that I have to protect." Eddie groaned in confusion and sad on his bed with his hands in his face, "But the book said we're supposed to be soul mates and we have this weird connection that I can't deny."

"I feel the same, but Eddie get this in your head, I don't like or love you. We fight like siblings but I don't fight with you like you fight with Patricia. You two fight like it's some seductive game and I respect that, but when I fight with you it's because you're being asshole," Nina said honestly.

"Ouch, I'm wounded Nina, wounded," Eddie mockingly put his hands over his heart and sighed dramatically.

Nina found herself laughing in relief Eddie was definitely not her soul mate. "You're like my brother and that's what feels right," she smiled.

Eddie nodded, "Most guys would hate to hear that but that sounds perfect to me," he admitted, "It's just so confusing because it says we're supposed to be soul mates but neither of us feel that way."

"So that means something is wrong with us?" Nina bit her lip. "What if something happens to us because we aren't soulmates?"

"No, I think we're fine. It's just so confusing because my feelings for you are so complex. Like I need to protect you and I know for a fact that you are my yang, but kissing you is wrong and I don't love you that way."

"But…" Nina could almost feel Eddie in her head, his thoughts, his feelings, his emotions were all easy for Nina to read and understand, "We do have a connection. I feel like sometimes I can practically read your mind."

"Again, that's why we're yin and yang. But we don't have to be soulmates," Eddie said with a sense of finality.

Nina was glad that he felt this way: connected, but not through love. But there was still one problem…

Eddie nearly gasped, remembering this creeping and awful fact as well, "Patricia and Fabian, what do we tell them?!"

Neither of them noticed the other person standing in the door way, "You could tell them that you just broke their hearts," Fabian stood, fists clenched at his sides and staring at them with a look of betrayal and anger.

Nina opened her mouth in horror, "Fabian, I didn't…I wouldn't…I…"

"I don't want to hear it," he stormed out the door.

Nina looked to Eddie while struggling to hold back the tears, "Eddie I have to…can we finish this later..I don't..love you…I don't…"

"I know Nina. I don't love you and you feel the same way. Go after him and I'll talk to Patricia."

Nina nodded and ran after Fabian. She saw him furiously opening the front door of the house and walking outside.

"Fabian, wait!" she cried after him.

Fabian had his back turned to her and stood, shaking in silent rage. It was pouring rain and the cold night blew a chilling wind.

"Do you even remember me anymore Nina?!" Fabian turned around yelling, "Because I'm left here alone while you and Eddie solve the mystery!"

"I'm sorry Fabian, I'm so sorry but please hear me out," she begged.

"Why should I? You kissed Eddie! Just because he's your Osirian doesn't mean you can make out with him because you two have a _connection_. We had a connection Nina, or did you forget?" he screamed harshly.

Nina moved her wet hair out of her eyes, "Fabian, Eddie and I aren't a thing-"

"Why should I believe you?! You're always spending your time with him these days and you never even talk to me anymore!"

"We_ have_ to talk in order to figure out how to protect the descendant ."

"Save it, Nina. You even missed my _birthday party_ because you were researching with Eddie," Fabian slammed his hand against the house, "If you were even researching at all."

"We _were_ researching!" Nina cried defensively, "And you're right, I have been leaving you out. But I want to spend more time with you!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" he roared at her, "You wouldn't even tell me what you found in the library, you just ran off to tell _him," _Fabian refused to say Eddie's name, as if it burned his tongue.

Nina took a deep breath, "Fabian the book said the Paragon and the Osirian are meant to be soulmates."

That caught Fabian off guard for a moment and for a second Nina thought his anger had vanished but it reappeared, "Well I guess you two tested that out and found it to be right, didn't you?"

"Fabian you have to listen to me-"

"I don't think I can trust you anymore," he said bitterly.

The broken look on his face made Nina want to cry. All the calm, kindness that was usually in Fabian had been destroyed, shattered into a million tiny pieces. It was replaced with rage and despair. The most heartbreaking part of it all was that she had broken him.

She opened her mouth to say anything, anything that could change his mind but he just shook his head and turned around and started to walk away. She wanted to yell out to him but she could not, not after she saw that last look on his face.

He was broken because of her.

She _had _to fix this. It was all her fault.

Maybe, just maybe, if he knew that she didn't love Eddie he would understand.

A great realization came upon Nina.

She loved _Fabian._

_Loved._

"Fabian, wait!" she cried desparately.

He turned around and Nina raced to meet him.

Grabbing his arm she said fervently, "Fabian I lov-"

"Love me? Your actions say otherwise," he jerked his arm away from hers and the comment stung, making her cringe slightly.

"Stay," she pleaded.

"Why should I?"

"Stay because I love you."

But Fabian just replied in a dead voice, "Goodbye Nina," He kept on walking and didn't look back.

But then she remembered something awful. Jason was out there and Fabian was alone. She had to warn him, even if he didn't forgive her. She would rather him safe and hating her than dead and her regretting this moment for the rest of her life.

Forgetting the fact that it was December in England, forgetting the fact that she wasn't wearing a coat, forgetting the fact that it was in the middle of the night, and forgetting the fact that the person out there could seriously hurt her, Nina ran after Fabian into the cold, wet night.

* * *

Over and over again she screamed his name, "FABIAN! FABIAN WHERE ARE YOU?!" But no reply came.

Nina was running through the streets and into town, hoping she could find Fabian.. Only the dim street lamps lit the dark, stormy night and she felt uneasy. What if Mr. Winkler was there? But she made herself forget everything because her main priority was to save Fabian.

"Fabian?" she whispered into the night, regretting not bringing a jacket. Maybe it was time to give up, her entire body was soaked to the bone.

No. She _had _to make sure Fabian was safe and then she'd leave.

Why did it have to be like this?

Every step closer to Eddie, her Osirian, was a step farther away from Fabian.

She heard muffled footsteps and turned around, "Fabian is that you?" She felt relieved that he was safe and was just about to hug him and tell him that she was desparately sorry when she realized that the approaching figure was not Fabian.

Nina screamed.

* * *

Fabian was wandering around town, trying to clear his head. He didn't know what to feel anymore. He had found Nina kissing Eddie in his room and everything had gone wrong from there. These past few weeks Nina had become even closer to Eddie and Fabian had found himself becoming jealous. He used to be the one who always talked to Nina. He almost wished he was her Osirian; he could protect her just fine and had all of last year. The rain had been coming down by the bucket loads, which was weird, even for Liverpool. The weather had been strange ever since school had let out and perhaps it had something to do with everything that had been happening.

He heard Nina call his name but he didn't move. He could not talk to her right now and he was sick of excuses. But on the other hand, was there a logical explanation? He didn't want to break up with her, because the last time that had happened he had felt indescribably lonely and empty without her as his girlfriend. He just felt so confused right now and needed time to think. Fabian sat down on the curb and covered his hands with his face in confusion and anger. The rain didn't help the situation either.

But then, it occurred to him, why he couldn't stay cross with Nina.

He _loved _her.

It was the kind of realization that came like a flash of lightning, taking him over, making him want to scream it to the word.

_I love Nina Martin._

Sure he was young and stupid but that didn't really matter because he _loved _Nina Martin.

But then he heard a sound that shattered his anger, Nina's scream. He remembered that Mr. Winkler was still out there, a psychotic man he used to know, ready to do anything to stay alive for love and health. If he got a hold of Nina he would use her to make Sibuna tell him who Cleopatra's descendant is.

Fabian broke out in a run towards Nina's voice.

* * *

It was Jason Winkler, her old history and drama teacher who was after the descendant for their magical blood that served as an elixir of life. He used to be normal, even brave, but he was something else now. His eyes were bloodshot and his matted hair was too long and looked shabby. The disease was slowly killing him and he looked thinner and more skeletal than ever. He was not the same man who had taught her drama a year ago. He was a crazy man, desperate for the thing he wanted and nothing was going to get in the way of that.

"Nina Martin, what is a girl like you doing here in this kind of weather, alone?"

Nina said nothing and clenched her fists at her side.

"Tell me who Cleopatra's descendant is Nina," he crooned circling closer to her.

"You've sure changed a lot Mr. Winkler. You use to be somebody brave. Somebody who stood up for what was right. What have you turned into now?"

"Rufus wasn't dying or in love, we are nothing alike," Jason growled.

"You were both willing to hurt children to get what you wanted."

"Sometimes causalities happen Miss Martin, and you have to accept that fact. Now tell me who it is or suffer the consequences," he pulled out a small yet sharp knife.

Nina's eyes widened and her hands were shaking but she refused to show her fear.

"I'm not afraid to spill the Chosen One's blood," Mr. Winkler placed the knife closer to her face as he grabbed her shoulder, his grip surprisingly strong.

"I'm never going to tell," she told him defiantly.

But Jason merely smiled and held the knife to her cheek, "Last chance," he whispered as the knife began to slowly dig into her skin.

Nina closed her eyes and embraced the pain of the knife. No, she would not cry now. Now was not the time for showing fear or weakness.

Blood trickled down her cheek but Nina remained composed, refusing to let Jason see that she was absolutely terrified.

"Such a brave little girl," he snarled.

Nina tried to jerk away but he held her tightly in place.

But then Nina heard a comforting sound, a police siren. It became louder as the seconds slowly ticked by and they both knew it was fast approaching. Jason leaned close to her, "I will be watching you Chosen One," and ran back into the dark of the England night.

Nina let out a shuddering sigh and waited for the police. But she heard no tires or sirens, only footsteps. She sighed, wondering what else life could throw at her.

But to her surprise, Fabian emerged from the darkness.

"What..how did you..?" Nina struggled to get her words out correctly.

Fabian smiled and held up his iPhone, "Police siren sounds."

"Fabian, are you okay? Mr. Winkler was out here and he had a knife. Fabian that man is so unbelievably crazy. I know you're still mad but I had to warn you about him. Now that you're safe I can go back. You don't even need to say anything but," Nina wanted to reach out and touch him but she knew she shouldn't, "I'm so sorry. You don't have to forgive me but thank you for saving me."

Nina gave him a small, sad smile and began to turn around but stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

Bewildered, she turned around to see Fabian smiling back at her.

"But I've already forgiven you, so please don't go."

In the back of her mind Nina knew that perhaps she did not deserve his forgiveness. But their eyes locked and in the moment all that mattered were Nina and her Fabian. She threw her arms around him and just held him close to her. At first Nina feared she had shattered everything that was right between them but they as they hugged, she felt the two of them fall back into place. Standing on her tippy toes, she had her arms around his neck and he had his arms around her waist, after a moment of they would both bury their heads in the other's body. It was going to be okay.

The rain had slowed and was not pouring so heavily but the as the gray sky drizzled quiet drops of rainwater, Fabian let go of her and began to tell Nina what had been rolling through his mind before Jason had come along.

"I've wanted to say this for a long time now but I could never find a way to say it just right, Nina Martin I am hopelessly in love with you. I love you when you smile and I love you when you cry. I realize that now that even when I'm upset with you I still can't help but love you. I love your hair, your eyes, your smile, and everything in between. I know we're young and at this age they say love is fleeting but I really don't care. I just love you."

Nina smiled and laced her fingers through his, "I love you too. Eddie is my Osirian but that doesn't mean I love him. He kissed me because he the book said we were supposed to be soulmates, but if anyone's my soul mate, it's you."

That was all that he needed to hear. Fabian cupped Nina's face in his hands and kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that was unforgettable and it felt as if they were not just two souls kissing, but one whole person.

Nina pressed her mouth against his soft one and she melted into Fabian, becoming one with him. It was like the hands of the clock had stopped moving and even the rain had stopped falling, the universe merely revolved around the two. They belonged to each other and they became intertwined souls, locked in infinite embrace.

As they broke away from the kiss they could not help but stand there with small smiles playing on their lips. Their foreheads were touching and their eyes were closed.

Fabian opened his eyes and saw Nina's breathtaking smile and pressed his grinning lips against hers one last time.

With the taste of Fabian on her lips Nina broke away from the kiss and hugged him again, "I love you."

"I love you too."

That statement, "I love you", had become much more than just words. It became a declaration to the universe- an everlasting declaration of their love. Those words were not just said-they were felt.

The rain had finally stopped and Fabian put his jacket around Nina, "You must be freezing."

"I've got you," Nina held Fabian's hand and leaned in close to him as they walked to Anubis, back to their home.

Their feelings for each other had forever changed. The love had always been there but they had finally said it aloud and they had both felt it-even in the depths of their hearts. Perhaps they had always loved each other through the midnight searches, the mystery solving, and everything else. But now they both knew it to be true. Their love was real-more real than the stars, the sky, and all that existed. And it was infinitely more beautiful and impossibly wonderful.

* * *

Eddie paced outside of Patricia's room, trying to form his thoughts into words.

But how could he make her understand? He was the one that kissed Nina. He needed a way to tell her that Nina was his partner, but Patricia was more than that. Too bad he couldn't ask Fabian for advice, clumsy Fabian who still somehow was smoother than him. A surge of guilt ran through Eddie, what had he just done to Fabian and Nina's relationship? Had he completely destroyed it. No, he thought. They're stronger than that, they'd be alright.

Finally, he mustered up the courage to knock on her door, "Yacker?" he said quietly.

She opened to the door, looking bemused, "Oh hey."

"Can I talk to you?"

"Come on in?" she laughed, suspicious of how odd he was acting.

"Can we talk somewhere more private?"

He nodded, and she grinned, grabbing his hand and leading him somewhere. Her touch made him feel so happy but he hated watching her be so carefree, because he was about to hurt her. But he had to, because the truth had to come out sometime and he wanted her to hear it from him.

They eventually came into the laundry room and she sat down, motioning for him to join her.

He did, sighing, "I don't even know what to say. Other than that I'm really stupid."

"Stupid? That's very uncharacteristic of you."

He couldn't even find in it him to laugh, "I'm sorry for what I'm about to say. But just promise you'll hear me out?"

She nodded and he took a deep breath, "Nina found a book in the library that said that the Paragon and Osirian had always been soulmates. And me, being incredibly stupid, thought I would um…kiss Nina to see if it was true."

"You..kissed..Nina?" Patricia sputtered, flabbergasted.

"Yes," Eddie dipped his head in pure shame, "I kissed her because we have a connection and because of that stupid book."

"You _kissed _Nina over what some _book _said?" Patricia shouted, standing up, "I _cannot _believe you!"

He stood over her, "No but Patricia the thing is I don't lov-"

"No! Don't you talk to me Eddison Sweet," she commanded, holding back tears, "Don't you _dare _speak another _word_ to me!"

Eddie reached out to touch her, to comfort her but she slapped it away and held her composure, "Stay away from me!"

He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him, "Don't you dare. Oh gosh, Eddie I trusted you! I've never been like this with anyone because I didn't dare! But you were different! I could tell you everything and you'd keep it a secret because you were supposed to be different from anyone else! I could be myself around you and actually show someone what it's like for me to care about them."

She refused to cry, because crying was pitiful and demeaning, as her mother said, "I was so _stupid _to think that I could trust you. Well guess what I learned? Don't trust anyone with your heart because they'll crush it to pieces. For once, just for once I let someone in and now you do this to me?! I hate who I am, because I'm so damn weak but around you I felt brave!" she spat, "You make me sick, you really do."

Eddie was the one blinking away tears now, "Patricia I didn't mean-" his voice was hoarse and now he was the idiot crying.

"You didn't mean to hurt me? That's rich, that's absolutely _rich_!" she yelled, "I can't even look at you right now," she pushed him away and stormed out the door.

Eddie was stupid, but not stupid enough to follow her. Putting his hands in his pocket, he grabbed a pillow and blanket from his room because he didn't want to face anyone tonight. And it was only fair to Patricia, so she wouldn't have to see him. He went into the living room and placed his belongings on the couch. Without his contacts, the Christmas tree lights looked like a colorful blur. For a long time he just listened to the sounds of the creaking sounds of the house, the steady ticking of the clock, and the whir of cars as they drove past. At one point Amber's kitten joined him on the couch, and he rubbed the cat, grateful for some company that could not talk. Eventually he fell asleep, thoughts of Patricia swirling around his head as he drifted off.

* * *

Fabian and Nina rushed into the house, drenched to the bone, teeth chattering and shivering so hard that they ached.

"Okay I have a really stupid idea," Nina admitted, wringing out her hair, "What if we went into the library and looked out the window for Orion and Sirius?"

"Stargazing? Perhaps it's a little too late for that," he joked as they walked to Fabian's room.

Nina laughed loudly, "I meant for Sibuna."

"Why the window in the library? There are lots of windows here."

"I had a vision and the word window kind of leapt out at me," she shook her head, "I just have a feeling, you know?"

"I trust you, but I think we should change clothes first."

"That's a great idea," she stopped at his doorway.

"Do you want to borrow one of my sweatshirts?" he questioned, grinning, "I just don't think that you have warm enough ones."

Nina smiled so wide she thought her cheeks would burst, "Sure."

Fabian ducked into his room, leaving Nina with her thoughts.

Constantly, Fabian managed to remind her why she felt the way she did about him. Of course they both knew that Nina had warm enough sweaters, but he was just being a cute goofball, knowing that it was dumb and sweet to let your girlfriend have your jacket. But that was Fabian, and that was just one out of a million reasons why she loved him.

Love.

The word bubbled on her tongue, like it was new and delicious.

Especially when put together with Fabian's name.

Saying _I love you_ to someone was supposed to make you awkward around them but Nina just felt so happy, euphoric even. Everything about Fabian was right and _I love you _felt right. Gosh, even kissing him just felt right. Nina loved when she grinned at Fabian and he grinned back, it was like their unspoken _I love you_. Because _I love you _is fragile and breakable, so it should only be said when needed, not just casually thrown around. And somehow Fabian understood, that so all night they just kept grinning at each other and they felt like they couldn't stop.

"Nina?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, "Yes?"

He held out a blue sweatshirt, "Here's this."

She took it from him, grinning as their fingers brushed, "See you in a bit, I'm going to slip into something warmer."

* * *

As Nina stood in her room, hugging the sweater to her chest, she remembered being in middle school with her friends, dreaming that some guy would do this for her. But now she didn't want to boast about it, it just touched her heart in a way that only Fabian knew how to.

After stripping down, she got on fresh clothes, pulling the hoodie over her head, taking in his scent. After she opened the dresser, she pondered over what pants to wear. Cute flannel pajamas or comfy sweats?

But she just laughed at herself, after what had just happened was she worrying about what to wear in front of Fabian?

Nina opted for the sweatpants.

Fabian was waiting for her as she stepped out of her room, thinking that she looked so beautiful, but who was he kidding? She was always beautiful.

She clutched his hand and they walked to the library, grateful for their warm clothes, even though it wasn't raining anymore.

"Should we turn on the light?" Fabian asked as Nina crept through the library in the dark.

She wiggled her eyebrows, "It's more romantic this way."

"Wouldn't want to lose this romantic feeling," he laughed, stumbling through the dark, but she grabbed his hand again and led him to the window. There, he opened the blinds and they both gawked at the fact that it had started snowing.

"I don't understand England's weather," Nina remarked, "It's biolar."

"Welcome to England," Fabian grinned, "But hey look at that," he pointed to a very bright star in the sky, "It's like the star they talk about in the bible, the one that led the shepherds to the baby."

"I'd like a star to lead me to the descendant," she ogled at the stars, "They're so pretty tonight."

Fabian nodded but squinted at the window, "Is it just me or does it look like that star is getting brighter?"

"It's kind of hurting my eyes," Nina used her hand to block out some of the light, "Okay what's happening?"

"I don't know," Fabian squeezed his eyes shut and Nina followed his example, "This is impossible! Stars are not_ supposed_ to get this bright…"

Nina had a strong urge to open her eyes, so she did and her mouth dropped open, "Fabian you have to open your eyes…"

Fabian opened his mouth to protest, but trusted Nina and opened one eye. A light shone in from the window, possibly from the star, and bounced into the library, reflecting onto the walls. A message, written in stars was there, and it looked like the library was the sky, full of a million stars.

_A constellation forms your map through books_

"That's beautiful," he whispered, "I never thought I'd say this, but what a beautiful clue."

Chuckling, Nina shook her head in unbelief, "Sometimes I really just don't understand Robert Frobisher Smythe. One minute trying to kill us, the next making us use our brains, and now there's this?"

"At least he's got a variety," Fabian turned to Nina who watched the stars, and he could have sworn that he saw the stars in her eyes, "Nina your eyes are the stars."

Nina snapped her attention to Fabian, "What did you just say?"

"Your eyes are the stars," he echoed, "And I want to drown in the stars."

Turning pale, Nina said with a shaky voice, "Where did you hear that from?"

Feeling embarrassed by his odd comment Fabian mumbled, "I didn't hear it from anywhere, I just thought of it…"

"Spooky. Because in my vision earlier that made me think to come to the window, Amneris-"

"The original Chosen One?"

"Yes. So Amneris was with a man, and I think they were together, and he said that to her."

"Very spooky," he agreed, grinning despite himself, "But it's true though."

"So you're just going to forget the fact how weirdly coincidental that is and go back to complimenting me?"

"That's the plan."

She grinned, "Good. Oh gosh Fabian," she rested her head against his shoulder, so glad that tonight they were like this, instead of fighting like she had earlier thought they were going to do, "I don't know who the descendant is, or how we're going to get through this, but I do know one thing, that I have you."

"You've always had me," he said softly, "And you always will."

She smiled up at him, "Your eyes are full of stars too."

"Then let's make a constellation," Fabian whispered, and they kissed, filling each other with stars.

* * *

**Okay so I kind of combined two chapters into one, that's why this is so long! I was very busy yesterday and didn't get a chance to write anything. Finally it is Christmas break for me! But yes, this was my favorite chapter to write! The Fabina scenes in the rain were the very first thing I wrote for this fic! BUT SO MUCH FABINA FLUFF DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT THEY LOVE EACH OTHER and ahhh Peddie drama. And thanks for all of your guesses about the descendant! I can't believe this already has 90 reviews! I'd be AMAZING if I reached 100 reviews! So let's get 10 reviews until the next chapter! I think that's not too much to ask considering the fact that this was so long and THERE WAS SO MUCH LOVE IN IT. 100 reviews would be the best Christmas present ever! Thanks so much for all of your support guys and I hope you're all bundling up, roasting chestnuts around an open fire, and merrily singing Christmas carols! **


	12. Ancient Secrets

**December 23: Ancient Secrets**

"Do you think Patricia's okay?"

"It's _Patricia, _she doesn't even have feelings."

Joy hit Mick's shoulder, frowning at him, "Mick, I'm serious!"

He rubbed his shoulder, pretending to be in pain, "You've got quite the left hook there, Mercer. But I am being serious! She'll be fine, she just needs time."

"I hope so," Joy bit her lip, "I'm worried about her. I've never seen her so upset. Let alone over a boy!"

He shrugged, "Just let her be alone for a while."

"Okay," Joy sat down on her bed, anxiously drumming her fingers in her lip, "I'll wait."

"How did Fabian react to all of this?" Mick asked.

"I don't know, but he's probably mad at Eddie."

"But not Nina?"

"Well allegedly, Eddie kissed Nina, so it sounds to me like the feeling wasn't mutual."

"So she didn't kiss him back?"

"I don't know the details Mick!" Joy snapped, but then sighed, "Sorry, I just meant that I only know what Patricia told me."

"It's fine. I think I know how Patricia feels, though. I remember how _I _felt when Mara and Jerome kissed."

"I guess kissing other people's boyfriends or girlfriends really creates problems," Joy embarrassedly remembered what she had done last year.

He nodded, and Joy suddenly had a brilliant idea, "What if _you _talked to her?"

"Me?" he scoffed, "I would make it even worse!"

"No just listen!" she cried, "You know exactly what Patricia is going through, maybe you could help her feel better!"

"What do you want me to do? Make her forgive Eddie? Break up with him!"

"I don't know, but at least say something to her!"

"I'm not Amber, I can't give dating advice!"

"Yes you can!" she was standing up now, a pleading look in her eyes, "Please Mick? Do it for me?"

"I'll try," he mumbled, "But I can't promise it'll fix anything!"

"Thank you!" she hugged him, then quickly shoved him out the door, "Now go!"

* * *

The entire town was covered in a blanket of snow from last night and the sky was pure white, stretching on fire miles like that.

That morning when Nina woke up her first impression was to open the door, and it was a blizzard outside. The flurries furiously blew and she was amazed with how impossibly fast the snow blew. It was all so white, the harsh beauty of the morning was astonishing and refreshing.

Fabian saw her and joined her at the door.

"Brrrr," he casually placed his hand against hers and she clasped it, "But since we've got no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

"I'll say," she smiled softly, "Winter here is so amazing. I'll never get used to it! It's so different from back home."

"It's lovely," he agreed, but he was more interested in her childlike fascination with the wintry day, "But you are lovelier."

Nina tore her eyes away from the outside and looked at him, "I like the way you say lovely, like it's something precious or delicate."

"I reserve the word just for you," he murmured, gently leaning down and kissing her softly, whispering between kisses, "You are lovely."

So they stood, wrapped in embrace with the door wide open and the snowflakes sticking to them, winter claiming them as they kissed.

She tasted his words, the sweet taste of lovely. Sometimes when you said a word over and over again it became meaningless and sounded wrong, but Nina just wanted to him to keep whispering that word to her forever.

He pulled his lips away from hers and planted one last kiss near her ear, whispering one last lovely.

"That was lovely," she breathed.

He chuckled, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

Mick stumbled upon them, "Have you two seen Patricia?"

They shook their heads.

"Why is the door open? It's freezing!" he shivered.

"Really? I think it feels lovely," Nina said, breaking into fierce laughter with Fabian.

Mick just shook his head and left them alone, laughing and full of lovely.

When the laughter subsided, Nina turned to Fabian, eyes crinkled in worry, "It's tomorrow. The descendant's vulnerable day is _tomorrow._"

"Oh my lovely Nina, we're going to be alright. We always have been."

"But what if we aren't so lucky this time?"

"It's different now," he squeezed her hand, "We're almost there."

"You're right, you're always right," she hugged him tightly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

They let go, "Oh gosh Nina I love you," Fabian said.

It was the second time he had said that to her and she was still getting used to hearing it. Appreciating the beauty and sacredness of those three words was a careful art.

"I love you too," the word still felt new on her tongue, not quite as sweet as the word lovely, but rich and whole.

"Let's find Sibuna," and he promptly shut the door, sealing in the heat and whispered promises.

* * *

Patricia always went to the laundry room when she wanted to be left alone. It was not a secret hiding spot or anything, because everyone knew she'd be there during times like these. It was the unspoken code to leave her be when she was in the laundry room, but Mick was going to ignore that.

His knuckles rapped lightly on the laundry room door, "Patricia? You in there?"

There was a muffled grunt on the other end, "Go away!"

Mick disregarded her commands and opened the door anyways. He almost expected her to have makeup smudges and puffy eyes from crying, but to be honest she just looked extremely cross.

"Get out," she hissed, "Can't you see I want to be alone?"

Sighing, Mick sat beside her on the floor, "Joy thought I should talk to you."

"Well isn't that noble of you," she sneered, "Well forget out, I don't want to talk to anybody."

"But I know how you feel," he objected.

"Yeah right," she scoffed.

"But I do. During the party last year when I came to see Mara from Australia, I saw her kissing Jerome. We didn't even actually break up until recently."

"Okay well maybe you do understand," she scowled, "But that doesn't change a thing."

"Yeah it does," he said, "Because I know what it's like, to be in the background, watching them kiss. To have your heart ache because that should be you, and not understanding what happened."

She said nothing in response, she only stared at the ceiling.

"And I understand what it's like to want to hate that person, to think that they don't even deserve to talk to you. But the worst part is that some part of you still wants them, despite what they did."

"I wish I could hate him," she said quietly, after a while, "But at the same time, I can't find it in myself to forgive him."

"But you have to. It's so much easier when you let go of those sorts of feelings."

"I just don't understand why he did it. I mean, he gave me a reason but it was a horrible one. Do you think I should just end it with him?"

"I don't know," admitted Mick, "But when Mara kissed Jerome she made it clear that she wanted him and not me. But I saw Fabian and Nina this morning, and they seemed to be okay. More than okay, in fact. So she definitely doesn't want him. Does he want her?"

Patricia scooted her knees up to her chest and hugged them, "Possibly. But really, I don't think so. Maybe he regrets the kiss."

"Then talk to him," Mick urged, "Nothing wrong can come from that."

"But how can I talk to him when I don't even want to look at him? What he did...it just...really hurt me. I trusted him and this is what I got in return."

"He might have broken that trust," said Mick, "But sometimes we do stupid things for stupid reasons, and you can't explain why you did it, you just have to ask for forgiveness."

"Why do we give people our hearts?" Patricia asked, then corrected herself, "Why do we give people the power to break our hearts? Hearts are so fragile and I don't understand why we would dare to let someone have them."

"Because when you give someone your heart it's a way of saying," he answered, "Here's my heart, so be careful. I gave it to you because I trust you not to break it."

"But what I put my faith in him and he broke it anyways?"

"You said that hearts are fragile," Mick pointed out, "What if it was an accident?"

"But his reason wasn't an accident," she sighed, "It was him being stupid."

"We all make mistakes sometimes."

"But that was the worst kind of mistake."

"And only the best kind of people can forgive that kind of mistake."

"But I'm not the best," she shook her head, "I can't forgive people so easily."

"Then try," he urged, "Give him a second chance."

"But I don't want to be hurt again."

"That's the chance we take when we're with someone, it's a huge risk but that's what love is, I guess."

"So I should risk my heart and talk to him again?"

Mick nodded, "Take a risk and try again, because you know what? I've been watching you and Eddie together, and I think that you two will make it."

"He's different. He's reckless, stupid, narcissistic, sarcastic, and rude. But so am I," she exhaled sharply, "And I really like him."

"Go," Mick advised, "Tell him what you told me, because life is short and moments like these will be lost if you don't grab a hold of them now."

Patricia stood up, halfway smiling at Mick, "When did you become so smart about this kind of stuff?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, grinning, "Maybe they put special stuff in the water in Australia."

"Get me some of that water then," she started to exit, but turned around, "Thanks Mick."

"You're welcome, now go!"

She grinned and ran out of the laundry room.

Mick was left wondering why he had ever left this wonderful place with all these wonderful people.

* * *

Eddie laid on his bed, trying to drown out his thoughts with his music on full blast. If he kept on replaying the scene over and over again in his head it would just make it worse.

Patricia walked into his room and he abruptly yanked the headphones off his head, staring at her hopefully, "Yacker?"

She tried to remain emotionless and sat on Fabian's bed, opposite to him, "I want you to explain to me what happened, because I'm ready to listen."

He gulped, "First of all can I say that I'm so sorry-"

She held a hand up to silence him, "Please just tell your side of the story."

"Okay, so Nina came into my room and was freaking out. Then she told me that she was reading a book in the library and it said that the Paragon and Osirian were always soulmates. I thought this was crazy, because I don't have any feelings towards her, other than ones that make me want to work with her so we can understand each other. You know, because we're connected and we need to be on the same level. But I thought that if I kissed her, I would know whether or not I liked her. So I kissed her and it felt wrong, and I realized that she was more like a sister to me than a girlfriend," after he finished his story he bowed his head.

Patricia let the story sink in. Eddie didn't have any romantic feelings towards Nina? So maybe, it really had been an honest mistake. To be honest, it made perfect sense to her. If someone had told her that she and say, Fabian were a perfect match she'd scoff, kiss him, and tell them that even though they kissed, there were no feelings at all.

She watched him stare at the floor guiltily, "So you were just trying to see if you had any feelings for Nina, and your kiss was a way of doing that?"

He nodded vehemently, "Yes, and I know that it's a really idiotic way of trying to figure things out, but that's what happened. And I have absolutely _no _feelings for Nina, especially not in the way I feel about you. I feel," he stumbled over words, "For you I…I just really like you Patricia, I really do."

Standing up, she walked over to his bed and sat beside him, "If what you're saying is…true, then I forgive you, because what you did makes sense, and if you really feel about me that way then it must be true. But you can't ever do that to me again, I have trust problems, okay? I don't trust people easily, and when I do it's a hard earned trust. But Eddie you broke that trust, now I know that you really weren't trying to and you had reasons, but we need to trust each other," she blushed, feeling really stupid for being so touchy and emotional, "Trust is important."

Eddie let out a shaky, long held breath, "I'm so sorry Patricia. I will never do anything like that to you again and your trust means everything to me. Thank you for forgiving me…I don't deserve it but thank you. Like I said before…I really like you, and I like having you in my life. It'd be strange without you, Yacker."

She nodded, trying to make the situation lighter, "I'm getting pretty used to your Americanisms and such."

"I'm glad," and then he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and not wanting to let go, "Sometimes I feel like _I'm _the clingy one in the relationship."

"Yeah, you are," she laughed, closing her eyes as she squeezed him, "Promise me we'll always make trust a priority?"

He let go of her and made an X over his heart, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

It felt childish, but she mimicked him, "Stick a needle in my eye."

He pretended to look alarmed, "I would hope not, your eyes are far too precious to waste."

"Leave the cheesiness to Rutter, will you?"

"Deal."

* * *

At lunch, Eddie and Patricia sat by each other and were back to their usual selves, insulting each other and such. Everyone assumed that they had made up and didn't question it further. Fabian and Eddie never really discussed what had happened either, but when Eddie came into the kitchen that morning, Fabian just nodded at him. It was so signify that there were no hard feelings between to the two, and perhaps in later years they would discuss it, but for now, it was better left untouched.

"What are you guys always doing together?" Mick asked, grabbing a sandwich.

"And to whom are you addressing?" Fabian arched his eyebrow.

"You lot," Mick replied, "The seven of you. What are you up to?"

Nina and Eddie exchanged a glance.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nina lied.

Trudy came into the kitchen and poured more water into their glasses, "Not to eavesdrop on you children, but it does seem as if you seven are always sneaking off into the library together."

Alfie nonchalantly played with his fork, "We don't do that, I think you've all been commanded by aliens to say that. Are they watching us now?"

Mara shook her head, "Nice try, Alfie. But seriously, what are you guys doing all the time?"

Fabian laughed, but it was a bit more high pitched than usual, "We're doing nothing. Seriously, why are you guys so interested in our business?"

"We're just curious," Mick said.

"You _are _acting very suspicious," pointed out Mara, "Why can't you just tell us?"

"Well for your information, we are actually doing research," Amber stated, matter-of-factly.

Patricia kicked Amber under the table, "What she means is that…"

"We're working on a project!" Nina said quickly.

"Yeah…" Fabian added, "It's for…this online class we're all taking."

"Online class?" Mara looked dubious.

Joy nodded, "It's a _special _class that focuses on…Ancient Egyptian History!"

"So what's your project on?" Mick folded his arms.

"Cleopatra," declared Alfie, "We need to have…a slideshow, a five page essay, and a poster all about her!"

"My my, that's quite a project!" Trudy exclaimed, "Why are you taking this class?"

"Because…my dad said that it would get us a few extra credits," Eddie answered, "That way we could have more time for studying periods and such."

"And when did you become an avid fan of studying?" questioned Mara.

"Either way," interrupted Nina, "It takes a lot of research in the library, and we better be off now!"

She stood up the rest of Sibuna followed shortly after.

"What an interesting class," Trudy remarked as she began to gather dishes.

"Indeed!" Mara grinned, taking one last gulp of tea, "I'd be interested in taking it even, but it seems as if it's already started. Maybe next year."

"You two actually believe their story?" Mick cried indignantly.

"It seems pretty reasonable," Mara shrugged, "Are you supposing that they're lying to us?"

"Well..yes! Er..maybe!" Mick grunted, standing up and exiting the kitchen, "I'm going to talk to Joy."

On her way out, Joy felt a hand grab her wrist.

"Mick," she turned around, smiling, "What do you need?"

"Why are you lying to me?"

Joy frowned, "I'm sorry Mick, but why don't you believe me?"

"Why can't you just tell me the truth?" he demanded, "I thought we were friends, Joy."

"We are, but you're just being quick tempered, because I am not lying to you."

Nina stood in the entryway, "Are you coming, Joy?"

Joy looked from Nina to Mick, "I've gotta go."

"So you're going to choose _them _over _me_?" he spat bitterly.

"Don't make this into a choice, Mick. I'm just busy, that's all."

"You're lying."

"I don't have time for this," she turned away from him, "I don't appreciate the fact that you don't believe me, but I guess that's just your fault," then she promptly left.

* * *

Once they were in the library, Fabian announced to Sibuna what he and Nina had seen the previous night.

"I think that I figured out the riddle," Fabian held up his iPhone, "The clue made of stars said that we needed a constellation to form our map through books. I think that this means that our next task is to search for words again in books, like what we did with the page number, line number, and word number thing last time. Yesterday Nina and I researched Orion and Sirius. Sirius was probably the star that showed us the clue so that leaves Orion, which is a constellation. It turns out that there are _seven _stars in Orion, which I found a bit odd. So I researched a bit, and found out that there are three main characteristics used to describe these stars; solar radii, apparent magnitude, and distance in light years."

Joy grinned understandingly, "So what you're saying is that we get the seven books from earlier, and use the three categories, aka page, line, and word to find a string of words!"

Fabian nodded energetically, "Exactly! Now everybody go find those books again and I will tell you where to find your words!"

Sibuna set to work, Fabian listed off a set of 3 numbers to each person, and they all found a different word.

Amber had scrawled the words onto a spare bit of parchment:

_key, closed, seen, eyes, through, the, is_

"This makes perfect sense," Patricia muttered.

"Fear not Trixie!" Alfie cried, pulling out his phone, "What if we arrange the words by what books they are from? If I'm right, the broken glass window riddle had a list of the books. So what if we put them in order of how they appear on this?"

He grabbed the pencil from Amber and after glancing at his phone wrote this, "_The key is seen through closed eyes._"

* * *

Victor took a deep breath.

The phone was still ringing, and he had been holding out on answering it.

"Hello?"

"Is this the Anubis house, of the Frobisher Smythe Academy?"

"Yes."

"Am I speaking to a Mr. Rodenmaar?"

"Yes."

"This is the Liverpool Police Department and we need you to come into the station to answer a few questions."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he hung up the phone and slipped on his coat.

A police cab was already waiting from him when he got outside and he stepped in.

The ride was silent and when they reached the station, Victor knew exactly what they were going to say.

A man in a uniform with deep crease lines sat him down in an office, "Mr. Rodenmaar we've called you in to confirm three bodies."

"The three victims of the murderer?"

"Yes sir, follow me."

He led Victor to the mortuary, where there were three long metal pull outs, each with white body bags on them.

A worker uncovered the first one.

"This is Delia Rumford," Victor said, feeling very nauseated

He recognized the second one as well, "John Roebuck."

The last one was as expected, but it pained him more than the others, "Daphne Andrews."

The policeman nodded and the worker left, "How do you know these three people?"

"We were friends," Victor's voice was hoarse, "Delia and John participated in many activities with me and Daphne worked at the same school as me."

"Sir, do you realize that you were in the phone contacts of these three people? It does seem very suspicious."

"I can assure you that I was at Anubis house during the time of the murders," Victor said confidently, "You can check with my work associates and such."

The officer nodded, "I'll need you to sign some paperwork sir."

And as Victor followed him, he knew with a certainty that Jason was hunting down old Society members. But what had stopped him? He, Mr. Sweet, and Mr. Mercer were all still clearly alive. Had Jason found another way? Victor didn't know if this was good or bad news.

* * *

Nina stared at the riddle perplexedly, "Closed eyes? But you can't see anything when your eyes are closed!"

Amber closed her eyes and hummed for a minute, "I'm not seeing any keys, sorry."

"Maybe it's a metaphor," Fabian suggested, "Perhaps it means that we'll find it where we least expect it?"

Eddie snorted, "What a detailed plan. We'll look everywhere that we don't think it is!"

"Well, closed is a synonym for masked, so maybe you need to be wearing the mask of Anubis?" Joy propose.

"That's not a bad idea," Nina shrugged, "What have we got to lose? I've hidden the mask back at the house, so I can go get that. Alfie, can you get the gem from the Frobisher Shield?"

"I'll be right on it!"

Ten minutes later, Nina returned with the bronze mask and Alfie with the purple gem.

He carefully handed her the gem and she placed it on the mask, the whole thing lighting up, then changing to a more golden color.

Nina slowly put on the mask.

Nothing.

"Try closing your eyes," Patricia urged.

She did,

Still nothing.

"Well this is useless," she muttered, about the take the mask off.

"Wait!" Eddie cried, "I have an idea. It's really weird, but I have a really strong feeling that you should do it."

"What is it?"

Eddie pointed to the coffin, near the entrance of the library, "Go into that."

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed, "Just…wear the mask into the _closed _coffin and _close _your eyes."

"And why do you think that this will work?"

"I just know."

Nina decided to trust him since he was the Osirian, and walked over to the coffin. Sibuna walked behind her, stealing glances at Eddie, who they thought might have been going crazy.

"Here goes nothing," Nina opened the coffin and stepped inside. Amber closed it for her and inside, Nina closed her eyes.

Eddie also closed his eyes, placing his hand on the coffin and muttering things.

Suddenly, the coffin began to glow, a bright golden color, just like the mask. Then a beam of light shot from the coffin and onto one of the books on the shelves. Eddie removed his hand from the coffin and walked to the spot where the light was shining brightest. The moment his hand touched the book that the light shone it, all the light vanished. Pulling the book off the shelf, he showed it to the others.

It was the original book that said _The Descendants, _the one with the first riddle in it.

Eddie opened the book and a key clattered to the floor.

Patricia opened the coffin for Nina she came out, staring open mouthed at the key.

Picking it up, Eddie gave it to her, "This was in the book."

Nina turned the key over in her hands, "It's got an engraving that says _Open your eyes."_

She took off the mask and handed it to Joy. Then she opened the book and right before their very eyes, a key hole appeared in the cover of the book. So she stuck the key into the keyhole and the book glowed a golden color again.

"Ouch!" Nina dropped the book to the floor, shaking her hands to cool them off, "It burned my hand…"

Fabian bent to pick up the book, and opened it up.

There was writing in it.

Fabian began to read.

_Seven descended from the great and noble of Egypt will assemble the elixir that can save Cleopatra's heir's life._

_They were once seven young Acolytes, one departed and another took his place._

Eddie whispered hoarsely, "Jerome was one of the Acolyte sacrifices and I took his place."

_They were brought together to save the descendant and to protect the ancient secrets._

Amber laughed shakily, "That's part of the Sibuna oath."

_The Seven_

_First is the Chosen One, the Paragon._

Everyone stared at Nina.

_She is descended from Amneris, who worshipped Anubis._

_She will lead you._

_The Osirian. _

Eddie clenched his fists, expecting this.

_He is descended from Osiris, god of the living and the dead._

_He will also lead and listen to the whispers of the house. He will be the Protector._

_Next, is the young boy, so full of wisdom and the lover of the Paragon._

Fabian gulped, "Is that..me?"

_He is descended from King Tutankhamen, the young pharaoh._

_He is pure of heart and will also protect the Chosen One._

"I'm…a descendant of King Tut?" Fabian started breathing rapidly, but he kept on reading.

_The girl full of fire._

Patricia felt like ice slid down her back, "This can't be true."

_She is descended from Sekhmet, the goddess of fire, revenge, and lions._

_She will fight for justice and always speak the truth._

"Oh my gosh," Patricia eyes were wide, "What is happening?"

_Then there is the beautiful girl, who adores everything._

_She is descended from Hathor, the goddess of love, music, and beauty._

"It's been listing the Gods and Goddesses from the books..Oh! Wait, I'm the girl?" Amber gasped.

Nina nodded, "Fabian, keep reading."

_She will provide wisdom and grace._

_The boy who creates laughter and happiness._

"That'll be me," Alfie took a deep breath, "This is so weird."

_He is descended from Ptah, god of creation, craftsmanship, and architecture._

_He will solve ancient riddles, make you laugh in the darkest of times, and provide light._

_Last is the child who always protected you, especially when you needed her most._

Joy watched everyone stare at her, "That can't be me…" she muttered, "I'm not…"

_She is descended from Bastet, goddess of joy and protection._

_She will protect you and watch over you._

Nina looked at all of her friends carefully, then cleared her throat, "We are the descendants. We were all chosen, it seems."

"And we were chosen to protect the descendant," continued Eddie, "We have the blood of Gods and Goddesses in us."

Finally, after a long pause, Fabian spoke up, "So this is why we're together? Why we're Sibuna? Because…it was always supposed to be this way?"

Nina nodded, "I…don't know how to explain it but yes. I just..I just know that what this book is saying is true."

"Then we think it's true too," said Amber, and everyone agreed.

Fabian kept reading from the book.

_The elixir that will forever protect the descendant from harm is this…_

_Tears of gold from the Paragon_

_Blood from the Descendant_

_The crushed petals from a blue and white lotus flower_

_These ingredients must be gathered together in the cup of Ankh, whilst the Paragon wears the mask of Anubis. The Paragon and the Osirian must have their guiders._

"Guiders?" Patricia asked.

Nina grasped her necklace, "I think that's what my necklace is, and what Eddie's ring is.

_The seven Acolytes must be in a circle around the descendant, chanting these words:_

_Be Safe O Descendant_

_I will sacrifice_

_The blood of the descendant is a sky that cannot be possessed _

_And with these words_

_I seal the Descendant's safety, until they may pass into the afterlife_

_Then the descendant must drink from the cup_

_When this deed is done, then the Acolytes will have completed their mission, and the Paragon and Osirian will be shown the ancient secrets, the powers that they may call down from the Gods_

"So that's what we have to do," Nina said, "And then…the descendant is safe."

So she let that stew, and for a while, Sibuna just sat in silence, taking in all that had just happened. It was an impossible thing, knowing that you were chosen to bear such a weight. That you were the blood descendant of an Egyptian God or Goddess. It was something that you couldn't describe, but only something you could just accept.

After a while, Patricia was the first to speak, "Okay so this is a lot of crazy information, and I can still barely process it. I mean, we're all have the blood of…magic? I don't know, but either way, we need to get started."

Nina nodded, "She's right. I say, that our first step should be to get the lotus petals from Mr. Sweet's office. _Sibuna?"_

"_Sibuna!"_

And the word now meant so much more to them, because now they knew that Sibuna was always going to happen and they were a part of it for a reason.

* * *

Now it was the middle of the night and Eddie and Nina were in Mr. Sweet's office, plucking two lotuses from his windowsill.

They both heard a voice and jumped, but Nina pressed her head against his wall and heard this…

_Oh hey mom, how are you?_

_I'm good._

_Yeah it is pretty late here._

_Why am I up so late?_

_Just the dreams keeping me up…_

_Yeah._

_Mhmmm._

_It's weird, I know. Whatever descendant means._

_Yeah I know, you've told me and everyone else that a million times. Christmas parties, celebrations, even to strangers at the park!_

_Well yes it's interesting, I don't know of anybody else who has a mother who's traced their ancestry back to Ancient Egyptian times. _

_But mom everybody knows that Cleopatra was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great…and lots of other greats grandmother, it's crazy but old news._

_No I don't think that has anything to do with the dreams, but you think that it has to do with everything. Maybe it's just meaningless, the majority of dreams are._

_Well Merry Christmas Even, I'll call you again later._

_Love you, bye._

Nina gasped out loud, and Eddie, who was listening too, covered his mouth to keep from letting out a noise.

"Oh my gosh that's the descendant," Nina whispered, "Eddie that's the _freaking _descendant."

"I know, I know! But…are we certain?"

"It's got to be. Okay so the descendant is a female, because that was definitely a girl's voice."

"Let's go talk to her then, to make sure!"

"Oh that'll be an interesting conversation. Hi miss, a crazy guy is going to kill you and we can protect you. Also, what is your name?"

"Well it doesn't necessarily have to start out like that," Eddie said, "But we better hurry, because this lady could be leaving for all we know."

"Okay. But can you believe it? It's like we were handed it on a silver platter!"

"Silver platter?" he scoffed, "We've been at this for like two weeks, I think we've earned this. I mean tomorrow…well I guess today she will be vulnerable! In fact, this was cutting it kind of close!"

"Yeah yeah," she grabbed his arm, "Let's go talk to her."

So she swung open the door, and there stood someone that both Eddie and Nina knew very well.

* * *

**SO THE DESCENDANT IS A GIRL AND WILL BE REVEALED NEXT CHAPTER, mwhahaha! But yes, sorry the ending is a little mundane but I finished watching a movie with my dad and it was 2 in the morning and I realized that I HADN'T EVEN WRITTEN THIS CHAPTER YET. OH MY GOSH THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH THERE ARE 100+ REVIEWS ON THIS FANFICTION BLESS YOU ALL THAT REVIEWED. Oh and congrats to MusicalWheaten who was my 100th reviewer! AHH THANK YOU. You didn't win anything but THANK YOU SO MUCH. BUT YES, the Sibunas just got a load dropped on them. Nina and Eddie aren't the only special ones in Sibuna now! BUT OH GOSH IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE 5 IN THE MORNING and I'm updating this fic. Ahh I'm rambling but LET US GET 5 REVIEWS UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER, COME ON, YOU OUGHT TO REVIEW BECAUSE THEN YOU'LL GET TO READ THE NEXT CHAPTER AND YOU'LL FIGURE OUT WHO THE DESCENDANT IS! Okay well yes GOODNIGHT NOW.**


	13. Two Choices

**December 24: Two Choices**

"Miss Valentine?" Nina asked.

And as she continued to look at Miss Valentine she knew that she was the descendant. With her dark skin, hair, and eyes she so closely resembled the image that flashed through her mind. It was of Cleopatra, waving to a crowd on a hot day in Egypt.

The teacher stared at her, "What are you two doing up at a time like this and how did you get into the school?"

"What are _you _doing up at a time like this?" retorted Eddie.

"I was just calling my mother," Miss Valentine said, showing them her phone, "It's actually a normal time in Australia right now."

"Why were you calling her?" Nina asked.

"Just…no reason," she crossed her arms, "Shouldn't you two be in bed?"

"Shouldn't _you _be in bed?" Eddie mimicked her, folding his arms and staring at her.

"I can't sleep," Miss Valentine replied tiredly, "Bad dreams."

"About what?" questioned Nina.

"I think you two ought to get into bed," Miss Valentine snapped impatiently.

"Do your dreams…involve the descendant?" asked Eddie hesitantly.

Miss Valentine did a double take, "I-yes. How did you know?"

Nina took a deep breath, "We might know about these dreams you have."

* * *

Nina and Eddie ran to the Sibuna's rooms and woke everyone up, gathering them in the living room.

"Oh my gosh look at the snow," Joy cried, staring out the window, "At this rate, it's going to be snowing all of Christmas Eve!"

"We've got more important things than that," Eddie said, "We know who the descendant is."

Everyone's eyes widened, staring expectantly at their leaders.

"It's…Miss Valentine," Nina announced.

"No way!" Amber gave her a look of disbelief, "It can't be her! I mean come on, our English teacher?"

"It makes sense, actually," Joy pointed out, "The majority of the portrayals of Cleopatra had dark skin."

"I had suspicions that it was Mara," admitted Fabian, "Considering that she's always been so curious about us and is very smart, like Cleopatra."

"And she dressed up like Cleopatra for Halloween," Alfie said.

"It's definitely Miss Valentine," Nina assured them, "She has always had weird dreams about herself being Cleopatra."

"That's not concrete evidence," Patricia protested.

"And her name is Cleo Valentine…which is short for Cleopatra. And her mom and grandmother are named Cleo. And her mother traced their genealogy back to Cleopatra," Eddie added, "She is quite literally the blood descendant of our Cleopatra."

"Wow," Fabian breathed, "It fits perfectly; _Cleo_ _V_alentine the second, aka Cleopatra VII."

"Okay so the descendant is Miss Valentine," Amber said, "But how did you explain everything to her?"

"It was pretty easy. She's always had troubled feelings about her dreams and I explained to her that we were sent to help her understand them. And that we would give her a potion that would help with the dreams," Nina explained.

"Wow, you actually told a good lie," sneered Patricia.

Nina made a face, "We also told her to meet us in the library at 4 in the afternoon."

"That way we have time to prepare everything," continued Eddie.

"I can't believe that our old drama teacher wants to kill our current English teacher for eternal life," Amber whistled, "So much drama."

"So be prepared to do a lot of work tomorrow, because we're going to be very busy from noon to midnight! Until then…" Nina put her hand over her eye, "_Sibuna!_"

"_Sibuna!"_

* * *

Jason Winkler sat in the hall of the school, maliciously grinning to himself.

Thanks to the kids, he had figured out when the descendant would be most vulnerable, or ripe for the picking and who exactly the descendant was.

He watched her leave, running her fingers through her nervously and hungrily thought of what she would bring to him.

His original plan was to confront Mr. Sweet about the kids, but now he had a new plan.

And it most definitely involved Miss Valentine, Nina, and Eddie.

This time he was going to gain eternal life, no matter how much blood got on his hands.

He would survive to see his child born, even if he went to hell and back to do so.

* * *

Amber Millington groaned, sluggishly pulling the covers back over her face, "I'm trying to sleep," she muttered to the figure that had perturbed her sleep.

Mr. Black Toes yawned, stretching and nudging her face.

"Oh fine," Amber mumbled, standing up and rubbing her kitten.

Fabian was standing over her, looking very pale and extremely worried.

"We don't actually need to be up until noon," Amber unhappily stared at the time on her alarm clock, "What's so urgent that you needed to wake me up?"

Instead of saying anything, Fabian shakily pointed to Nina's bed, which was empty.

She was more alert now, "Fabian, what happened to Nina?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, but Eddie's gone too."

* * *

"What if we had an actual Christmas Day party?" Mara asked Mick at the empty breakfast table, because everyone else was supposedly researching for their online class project.

"If there's food then I won't object," he lathered his toast with jam.

"I think that we should organize one, because they deserve it after working so hard!"

"I'm game."

It was simple, really. Mara told Trudy about their plan, and they set to work, baking and sprinkling sugar cookies, gathering together all of the Christmas music, and making other Christmas treats. Trudy was in the kitchen, making more cookie dough and Mick and Mara were at the dining table, frosting the cookies.

"Do you like Joy?" Mara asked cautiously, watching for his expression.

Sighing, he dipped his finger in the frosting, "I guess there's no point in lying to you, is there? Yes Mara, I like Joy. There, I said it!"

She grinned, "I knew it! I so knew it!"

"Oh hush," he warned, "It's not a big deal, really."

"Yes it is! Now you need to proclaim your everlasting love for her…"

He rolled his eyes, "Apparently when I left everyone turned into Amber. But no, it's just a crush! Like a hey, I like you, and we should date, sort of thing."

"Ah Mick," she smiled, "So casual. You need to do something for her!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, serenade her?"

"Can't sing."

"Read her poetry?"

"Poetry is tacky."

"Ooh, I know! _Write _her poetry!" Mara cried, "It's perfect!"

"First of all, I do not write," he continued, "And second of all, I do not write!"

"No it'll be perfect, poetry is very sweet, even if it's absolutely terrible?"

"Even if it's absolutely terrible," she assured.

He set down his knife, "I feel really bad for not trusting her. Do you really think that a poem can…convey my feelings?"

"Of course it can! Now go on, I'll finish these up!"

"You're the best," he grinned.

"I know," she pretended to act pompous, "Now run along, before my wisdom of love ceases to exist."

"It existed at one point?"

"Ha ha," she smirked, "Says the guy who…"

"I'm not going to let you finish that sentence," and Mick ran away from the table.

* * *

The Sibunas were gathered in the library, each and every one of them looking restless and uneasy. Fabian and Patricia were both pacing.

"Can somebody just get rid of that?" Amber clutched her stomach, referring to the message written on the wall.

The words, that were written in what seemed to be blood, ran along the library's walls, making pinging sounds as they dripped.

_Give the descendant to me in the library at 8 pm in return for your Chosen Ones back._

_If you do not follow my instructions I will kill your friends._

They all knew it was from Jason, and not a word was spoken between any of them, for fear that if they did they would break down.

Sibuna was completely lost without their leaders.

Hours passed as they sat in silence, waiting for anyone to say something.

At four o'clock Miss Valentine tentatively entered into the building, suspiciously glancing at her worried looked students.

"Where are Nina and Eddie?"

Alfie weakly pointed to the message, and Miss Valentine looked like she was going to vomit.

She held up a finger and accusingly pointed at all of them, "There's more to this than just the dreams, aren't there?"

Finally, Fabian uttered something, "Yes," he said hoarsely, "We're in a lot deeper trouble than they led you to be."

Gulping, she sat down beside the Sibunas, "Tell me."

So Fabian explained to her what they had been going through these past two weeks, and who Jason was and who the Sibunas were. She nodded occasionally, but said nothing.

"I believe you," she announced when he was done, "And I'd like to protect my students. I'm going to let this Jason man take me."

"Wait," Patricia objected, "We need to protect you, we can't just give you up to him!"

"It's the only way, if you want to save your friends."

"This is Nina and Eddie we're talking about," Joy said, "They'll find a way."

"Either way," Miss Valentine huffed her chest, feeling oddly detached and slightly heroic, "I'm going to be here at eight, and you children can't stop me."

It was true, there was nothing they could do that would make her stay. So instead, Miss Valentine and the Sibunas waited in the school until the time was upon them, and nobody discussed what was about to happen.

* * *

Grinning, Mick took one last look at his poem, feeling somewhat proud despite his hatred for writing.

_Joy, I wrote you a poem. You told me that you thought Fabian wrote you a poem, but it wasn't for you, and I reckoned that you deserved a poem. Sorry if it's terrible, English wasn't my best subject. And sorry it's so long. I tried a rhyming poem but that was a mistake, so here's this instead._

_It all started with_

_Those green frosted cupcakes_

_Watching the couples _

_Twirl and twirl_

_So we just talked_

_That was when I realized that you were_

_Just like me_

_I almost asked you to dance_

_But things_

_Got in the way_

_I'd still dance with you now_

_I hope you liked that silly kangaroo_

_That wasn't meant for you_

_Then we kept talking_

_And I liked that I could _

_Be me around you_

_We were so simply right_

_But when we got rid of_

_Old memories_

_Was when I felt that_

_Familiar feelings_

_But with you, it was newer, better_

_We danced around the fire_

_And I burned for you_

_The day we watched balloons_

_Disappear into the sky_

_Until we just _

_Couldn't see them anymore_

_Made me feel_

_So light and free_

_Because you kept smiling_

_Crinkling those deep brown eyes_

_That's what you are_

_Deep_

_No one can pin you down to_

_One_

_Word_

_Especially not me_

_So then I decided that pink and gray_

_Went perfectly together_

_Did you know that you wore_

_A pink shirt with a gray scarf that day?_

_So now I'm just sitting her_

_Fumbling with my words_

_Thinking that _

_I miss you_

_I'm sorry I said stupid things_

_Joy_

_Please never stop being you_

_Because there's someone who wants you for you_

_That's me_

_And even though_

_I can't stay here_

_We can still find a way_

_To do more _

_Stupid things together_

_Just promise that you'll be my girl_

_My Joy_

_And I'll be_

_Your Mick_

_If that's okay with you_

_-Mick_

Folding up neatly, he stuffed it into a pink balloon. Then he filled it up with the helium from the attic and tied a string around it. On the balloon he wrote _To Joy, From Mick. Don't let this one float away. _

Smiling to himself, he placed it in her room, hoping that she would understand.

Besides, sometimes you had to take a chance for the ones you loved.

Because even though hearts are so easily broken, it's worth it.

* * *

At eight o'clock they all slowly walked into the library. The lights were out, and as Amber turned them on she stifled a scream.

Jason was waiting for them, a look of pleasure on his face, gesturing towards something, two people, tied to chairs with bags over their heads. It was easy to tell by their clothes that it was Nina and Eddie, but they weren't struggling or moving at all.

"Come and sit," Jason offered, a wild look in his eyes, "And if you make a move towards your friends I will slice their throats," he held up a knife.

They all piled in, because all they could do was sit and stare.

Miss Valentine was last, and she stood near the back, but Jason saw her.

"The infamous descendant, oh how I have longed for you," he crooned, "Won't you join us?"

She walked up to the front, trembling slightly, but chin held high as she sat by her students.

"Thank you, and now, here are your friends," he yanked off the bags from the heads, revealing Nina and Eddie. They both slowly opened their eyes, wincing whenever they made small movements. There were bruises on Nina's face, and her lip was cut open. Dried blood stained Eddie's shirt, and he had a slash across his forehead.

Fabian wanted to scream or tackle Jason but he knew he couldn't, so he just stared at Nina, too afraid to even mouth her name.

"Here are the noble Paragon and Osirian," Jason laughed, "I caught them while they were sleeping, the precious children."

"Now let them go," Miss Valentine commanded, "I'm here and you can have me."

"Yes," he set down the knife and walked up to her, circling her, "The descendant, at last."

She stared straight ahead, lip trembling, "Release the children."

"So courageous, considering the fact that you've only known your true identity for a few hours," Jason mocked, "And you're so keen to protect these children that you hardly know."

As Jason encircled Miss Valentine like he was a hawk, hunting down its prey, Patricia watched as Eddie slid his foot towards the knife. He carefully balanced the knife on his foot and brought it up to his hands. Then Nina placed her head in his lap, grabbing the knife with her teeth, as Sibuna silently cheered them on. She reached behind his back and dropped the lap into his hands. He cut himself free from the ropes, but held them in place and also cut Nina's ropes.

Luckily, Jason was so engaged in Miss Valentine that he didn't see Nina sneak up behind him with a knife. She silently pounced at him, pressing the knife to his neck and Eddie grabbed Miss Valentine and flung them away from Jason.

All of Sibuna was standing up now.

But Jason just laughed, "You think you've overpowered me?"

Nina gritted her teeth and dug the knife deeper into his skin, "What are you talking about?"

"While they slept, I injected a transmitter that will release a serum into the rest of your friends. If you try to do anything to me I will say the voice command and they will drop dead. So they will slowly and painfully die unless you let me go."

A sense of defeat fell over Nina's body and she relaxed her grip on the knife, causing Jason to quickly turn around and snatch it from her. He then proceeded to hold the knife against her throat.

"Run," Nina whispered to everyone.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he tsked, "If any of you runs Miss Martin here will pay the price."

Miss Valentine held up her hands, "I surrender, take me and let the children go."

"Sit down," he commanded, and she obeyed him, slipping into the chair near him.

Fabian couldn't take it any longer, he stepped forward and yelled, "Let go of her!"

"Careful, or I'll slit her throat," warned Jason and Fabian felt his stomach sink, was this really going to be the end of Nina?

Eddie joined Fabian, "You let go of her this instant or I swear I'll-"

"Call down the wrath of the Gods?" jeered Jason, "You don't have the power, boy. And don't forget, if I kill her than you die too."

Nina and Eddie shared a look, the kind that could only be interpreted through facial expressions and because of their connection.

"Kill me," Nina pleaded, "Kill me and spare my friends."

Grinning evilly, Jason let go of Nina and handed her the knife, "I'll let you choose, Miss Martin. You have to choices. Kill me, and all of your friends will die," he spread out his arms, "But you, your precious Osirian, and the descendant will live."

Nina stared at her friends, knowing that she couldn't ever choose that, and she held back tears, knowing what the next option was.

"But," Jason continued, "Kill yourself and your friends will be saved. Your Osirian will die and the descendant's death is inevitable but you'll die knowing that you saved your friends."

Was she going to sacrifice hers, Eddie's, and Miss Valentine's lives for the protection of her friends? She was told to protect the descendant, but these people were more important to her.

She had spent the last few weeks being protected by others.

It was her turn to protect them.

Nina raised the knife.

"WAIT!" Fabian cried, taking a step towards Nina, "Let me do it instead."

Nina wanted to scream at him, it was not his decision to make.

Jason considered this, "I _should _get rid of the Chosen Ones, but this is so tempting. Such a noble sacrifice, for young love," he grabbed the knife from Nina, who tried to hold onto it but Jason's strength was greater. He handed it to Fabian, "Make the choice, boy."

He knew what this meant, but Fabian was going to do it anyways because he couldn't let Nina do this. Fabian knew that she was mentally screaming at him, but it didn't matter, because this was going to save her.

One last act of bravery, he thought, Saving Nina will be the last thing I ever do.

He positioned the so that it was just above his heart. His fingers trembled but he was determined to his this, it was time for him to be Nina's protector. He wanted Nina's face to be the last thing he saw, so he looked at her beautiful face and mouthed one last _I_ _love you._

A tear fell down her cheek and she mouthed those three words back. Their eyes locked for the last time, and Fabian wished that they could have had longer. He wanted to grow up with her, share a life, and grow older with her. But those plans dissolved as he prepared to plunge the knife into his heart. The only thought he wanted to have as he died was that Nina was so beautiful and he as the luckiest person alive to have her.

So he steadied his grip and Nina held back a sob, closing her eyes because she could not watch this.

"Stop!" Patricia begged, voice wobbly, "What happens next, Mr. Winkler? You will gain immortality and this will be the price that _you _paid, to live forever with guilt. So while your family ages, you will remain young and healthy. They will die and you will be left completely alone, unable to scrub the blood off of your hands. Is it worth it, to live forever if it will make you into this?"

Jason stared at her, wiping a bead of sweat off of his brow.

"Remember when you were somebody who was good? What happened to the Jason Winkler that wanted to help me find Joy? What happened to the Jason Winkler that was our favorite teacher? What happened to the Jason Winkler that put the student's lives first? Where is the Jason Winkler that was a good man and where is he now? I know that you are the man who killed those three people, but if you do this now then you become Rufus. Don't become that nightmare, because doing this has consequences you can't even begin to imagine," and at the last word tears began to fall down her cheeks and her words came out hoarse, "Please, Mr. Winkler. Don't do this."

A single tear cascaded down his cheek, as he nodded understandingly. Somehow, the words of a young girl had changed his mind. He recalled the upset Patricia from a year ago, sulking in her pajamas as she pleaded with him to save Joy. He saw that girl again, but this time her plea was for something that he could control.

Jason took the knife from Fabian and said, his voice almost sounding like the man they had once know, "It seems as if you have many protectors, Miss Martin."

And with that Nina ran into Fabian's arms, crying and hugging him, while the rest of Sibuna hugged them. The traumatic experience had brought tears to everyone's eyes, and they all were desparately clinging to each other.

The next step was to protect Miss Valentine, and their ritual began.

The mask and cup were hidden in the library, so those were taken out. Nina put the mask on her forehead and handed the cup to Miss Valentine.

Joy placed a hand on Fabian's shoulder, because she knew that he hated seeing Nina put the mask on. It reminded him of last year, when Senkhara had controlled her.

Eddie made a small incision on her arm, "Sorry if that hurt, but it's necessary."

Nina stood over the cup and tears of gold leaked from the mask and into the cup.

Alfie took out the lotus petals and crumpled them into the potion.

Then the seven gathered in a circle, holding hands and chanting this as Miss Valentine drank from the cup.

_Be Safe O Descendant_

_I will sacrifice_

_The blood of the descendant is a sky that cannot be possessed _

_And with these words_

_I seal the Descendant's safety, until they may pass into the afterlife_

As they said these words, it seemed as if energy flowed throughout Miss Valentine, and her eyelids grew heavy. A golden light swirled around her, and she dropped to the floor. It was less dramatic than anticipated, but they all knew that she was protected. Then Nina and Eddie walked to her, crouching beside her and whispering something in her ear, and it seemed as if their eyes shone brighter than usual.

"Forget this," Eddie commanded as she slept, "Forget you dreams, descendant and move on."

Eddie picked her up and carried her out to the school, where he laid her on her bed and then came back.

From then on the rest of the night passed by in a blur, as if it was merely a dream. Jason disabled the serum and Nina and Eddie said an incantation, that would make his disease kill him tomorrow. Now you need to say your goodbyes, they said, This is your last gift. Because you won't go to jail or face trials, our mercy has spared you and you may find death more peacefully this way. The way they said it was very strange, as if they were almost being controlled by something, like a God or Goddess. Jason quickly exited, thanking Nina and Eddie as he hurried out the door.

"It's Christmas," Nina said as she looked at her phone, laughing weakly, "Merry Christmas everyone."

"Merry Christmas," they chanted back and departed, leaving behind the insane events that had happened there.

They all slipped into bed, exhausted from everything. Children in nearby houses dreamt of Santa leaving presents, Miss Valentine dreamt of a strange occurrence in the library, but it was forgotten when she awoke, and the Sibunas dreamt of blissful nothingness.

* * *

**Ahh wow okay there it is sorry this is super short, but I was busy and it was Christmas Eve. BUT NONE OF YOU GUESSED THE DESCENDANT, TELL ME, WERE YOU SURPRISED? But yes, this person was going to be the descendant from day one! And this fic isn't over yet! One more chapter because they still need to have their Christmas party! Might do an epilogue...what do you guys think? Also, I am so overwhelmed by the amount of reviews and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for reviewing, and special thanks to those of you who reviewed more than once! This fic wouldn't be here without you! Let's get 5 reviews until next chapter! So goodnight my fellow Sibunas, and I hope that you're all dreaming of sugarplum fairies.  
**


	14. I'll Be Home for Christmas

**December 25: I'll Be Home for Christmas**

It was Christmas Day. Children were waking up early, shaking their parents awake and excitedly ripping open their gifts. But as for Sibuna, they slept soundly in their beds, lingering for as long as possible. There were no more clues or long nights so they were enjoying what time they had to sleep. However, Mara and Mick were awake, adding last minute sprinkles to cookies and queuing up the Christmas music. Trudy was preparing an enormous Christmas breakfast for everyone. But thanks to a few phone calls there were a large amount of presents under the tree.

It was a beautiful morning, the new fallen snow covered the town, fresh and powdery from yesterday's blizzard. The trees were weighed down with snow and the sun made the snow glisten and sparkle.  
As Nina awoke, she felt slightly nostalgic, remembering Christmas mornings as a young child with Gran. But this time, there were no presents to be unwrapped or stockings to discover.  
Mr. Black Toes was scampering around, waiting to be let out. Nina got out of her bed and opened the door for him. Then she stepped into the hallway and down the stairs, wishing that she was a child on Christmas morning once again.

But what lay under the tree was just like a traditional Christmas morning! There were presents under the tree and Christmas music playing. An empty glass and cookie crumbs were on the table. The room smelt of cinnamon rolls and sizzling sausages. Mara came out of the kitchen, brushing off sprinkles from her clothes.

"What's all this?" Nina asked, completely flabbergasted.

"This is Christmas," she grinned, "We thought you guys deserved a party considering you've been working hard, but we decided that we all needed a real Christmas."

Amber was out of her room, slipping on her robe and squealing with joy, "HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!"

One by one everyone gathered in the living room, each breathlessly taking in the decorations and feel of the house.

Joy was the last and she we still getting putting on a jacket when she spotted a balloon. She realized it was from Mick and laughed to herself as she popped it. A note waited inside for her, and she smiled as she read it.

Mick was a terrible poem writer, but it was so sweet and she shared his feelings. Then she went downstairs and decided to confront him later about it.

In the living room Mick stood in front of everyone and cleared his throat, "Er, merry Christmas mates!" he led everyone into the kitchen.

Waiting for them there were cinnamon rolls, biscuits and gravy, sausages, muffins, and hot cocoa.

Trudy smiled at the kids, "Good morning, lovelies! Who wants a Christmas breakfast before we open presets?"

"Presents?" Alfie asked, eyes widening eagerly.

"We called and asked your families to send in a Christmas present for each of you," she explained, "Now eat!"

They happily ate and discussed some of their favorite memories as a child.

After their delicious breakfast, they entered into the living room and sat around the Christmas tree. It felt like they were young again as they watched the presents with sparkling eyes.

Everyone's presents were wonderful. Nina got a time turner necklace from her Gran, Fabian got guitar picks with quotes on them, Joy got a scrapbook to put her pictures in, Mara got a set of piano books, Alfie got a Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide, Amber got a new dress that was sparkly and pink, Patricia got a new sweater, Eddie got headphones, and Mick got a jersey with the same number as one of his favorite football players. And last of all, Mara and Joy had been working together over the holidays on a quilt for Trudy. It had the signatures of every Anubis house member on the patches and was very cute. She loved it!

So the presents were unwrapped and they all sat around the fireplace, drinking hot cocoa and listening to Christmas music.

Trudy shut the door behind her, brushing off snowflakes, "It sure is storming out there!" she slid the rubber band off the newspaper and began to read it.

"Well would you look at that!" she cried, showing everyone the front page, "It says here that the murderer has been fond…dead?"

"Huh?!" Amber exclaimed, trying to sound surprised.

"Oh my," Trudy read on, "Though he seems to have died of natural causes, the body of the murderer has been identified by the police. A medical examiner concluded that the man had a tumor in his body and it was killing him, and last night he drew his last breaths. Perhaps it was insanity, some say that he might have wanted to outlive people despite his illness, or a deranged act of violence. The bodies have also been identified, but the names will not be disclosed at this time. The man's name was…oh my goodness gracious."

"What is it?" Mara urged.

"Jason Winkler," finished Trudy, "This man wife, Kaitlin Winkler identified his body. She said that she had no idea of the crimes he'd committed but spent Christmas Eve night with her. He was acting very strange, she told us, and never quite explained where he'd been. But was gone Christmas morning and found dead in an alleyway. The police discovered his body and it was confirmed by witnesses that he was the murderer. We may never know the true story behind Jason Winkler's murders, but for now we will be thankful that he can kill no more."

Mick shook his head incredulously, "He taught us Drama. Mr. Winkler was such a great teacher though…what happened?"

Patricia shrugged, "It's a mystery."

"Well then," Trudy shut the newspaper, trying to make her voice sound cheerier, "Despite that sad…and odd note…this means you all get to be home for Christmas!"

Everybody cheered and Nina silently thanked everyone in Sibuna for not slipping up about Jason.

So everyone called their parents, gleefully telling them that they'd be home for Christmas, and the snow just kept coming down on that wonderful Christmas day.

Mick slipped his phone into his pocket, sad to leave his friends but excited to spend some time with his mother.

Joy skipped over to him, a grin spread across her face, "Hey, Mick."

He put his hands in his pocket, "Hey, Joy. Did ya get my…"

She nodded, "Sure did," Joy laughed lightly, "I thoroughly enjoyed it."

"Oh don't lie to me!" he accused, "I can't write a poem to save my life."

"Okay maybe that's true," she giggled, "But it was a romantic gesture nonetheless!"

"Romantic?"

"Mhmm," she said, twirling a stray piece of hair, "So you'll be going back to Australia soon?"

"Yeah, but my mum and I'll be staying in a hotel for a few days, we've got a bit of time to waste before our flight home."

"A bit of time? Perhaps we could…do a few more stupid things together."

"Really?" he grinned, "And once I'm gone, I think we'll still be able to be dumb together."

"How so?" she asked, eyes bright and mischievous.

"We could find a way. You've got that camera to send me pictures and I've got a laptop with a webcam…"

"That sounds reasonable. So what are you suggesting?"

"I just..that we should go on dates," he replied bluntly, "We're mates but I'd really like to be dates."

"I bet you've used that line before," she pointed a finger at him.

"Maybe so, but Joy, I like you. Plain and simple, I like you."

"I like you too, Mick," she blushed, staring up at the ceiling, "We're under the mistletoe," Joy stated.

"Oh, we are?" he looked up and smiled crookedly, "I didn't even notice."

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know, but whatever happens is going to be amazing. You know how I know that? Because I'm falling for the exactly right person this time. Kiss me?"

"Only because you asked nicely," and then she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him fiercely beneath the mistletoe. He cupped her face and they fell into the slow and prolonged beat that was kissing. It was different and fantastic, because they never knew they needed it until this very moment. When the kiss was over they both just stood in each other's arms, laughing and smiling. Then the rest of Anubis house gathered around them, hugging the new couple and congratulating them.

Joy remembered last year's party, hugging Fabian and Nina, and now she knew what it felt like. She felt just right being there in the group hug, but this time she was the center, along with Mick.

So the hug ended and little by little everyone departed in cabs, waving as they left for their respective homes.

All of the couples kissed each other, saying their goodbyes. Patricia promised she'd visit Eddie at the Sweet Residence, so that he wouldn't get too bored. Alfie promised Amber they'd have more colorful dates. Mick and Joy made plans for their first date, and it was definite, they were completely right for each other! Who would've thought that they'd be kissing and planning dates? But somehow it worked perfectly.

Fabian planted one last kiss on Nina's lips as a cab outside honked, "Have fun in America, be safe!"

"I'm safer there," she laughed, giving him a hug, "But I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Me too," he said, "This was quite possibly the strangest Christmas I've ever experience."

"No kidding," Nina agreed, "But it turned out to be pretty wonderful at the same time."

The cab driver honked, irritated at Nina's delay, "I better go," she sighed, wheeling her suitcase to the front door, "Merry...uh I mean...Happy Christmas Fabian."

"Happy Christmas, Nina," he opened the door for her, "I love you Nina, I really do."

"I love you too," and with that, she left.

As she walked to the taxi and the snowflakes clung to her clothes, she hummed a Christmas song. They would always talk about this Christmas, and would discuss how much it changed them. And it had, perhaps they'd never be the same again. But sometimes change was good, and in a way, it had brought them all closer together. She couldn't describe it to Gran, or anyone outside of Sibuna, but it would be a Christmas she'd never forget.

Because sometimes, the memories most cherished are made with those you love. Life threw strange things at you, like pain, sorrow, but along the way you'd catch laughter and happy memories. And you could make it through these trials if you had things like love and friendship.

"_Through the years_

_We all will be together_

_If the fates allow_," she sang as they drove.

But they would be together.

Because love and friends like hers only came once in a lifetime, and you stayed for the people you loved.

So she traveled back to America, but she wasn't _going _home, she was _leaving_ home.

Anubis was her home now, because a home is not determined by the location, but by the ridiculously amazing and impossibly wonderful people that were there.

* * *

**To: My Readers**

**From: Sarah**

**Happy Holidays!**

**And there it is, the epic (and quite short) conclusion to my House of Anubis Christmas tale. It was incredibly fun to write and I loved reading every single review! Your support means the world to me and without it this fic wouldn't be here! I can't believe it was so successful and I'm so thankful for all my readers. And what comes next? No idea! Somebody requested a sequel and I've been thinking about a possibly epilogue but I'm completely clueless as to what I would write! So send my any ideas you have and we'll just see what happens. For now, I'll slowly but surely work on He was my Cream and I was his Coffee, another adult Anubis fic, another AU that I've been considering, and whatever comes to mind! But for now I'm just going to sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the holiday break. Season 3 will be here soon and I'm really excited for it! So have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**


	15. Epilogue: Adventures in Dating

**Epilogue: Adventures in Dating**

"Are we all ready?" Nina asked, pulling on her boots. She was standing next to Eddie at the bottom on the stairs, waiting for everybody to get downstairs.

"Not if Amber continues to take this long," Eddie grumbled, cupping his voice to make it louder, "Hurry up Blondie, you're going to make us all late!"

"5 more minutes!" the blonde pleaded, "You can't rush perfection."

"We're going on a group date," he pointed out, "Not meeting the Queen."

Over the break Amber had texted Nina saying that she and Fabian should go on a double date with herself and Alfie. Not wanting to repeat the mess they had made last time they had gone on a double date, Nina quickly volunteered Patricia and Eddie to accompany them. Then Mara got word of this from Patricia and asked if she and Jerome were invited. Last but not least, Fabian told Mick about it and he said that he and Joy would also be there. So now that everyone was coming, Nina suggested that they should make a big group day date out of it and all get together the day before school started. Thus their plan was born.

"Take as much time as you need, Ambs," Alfie frowned at Eddie, "Dude, your girl isn't ready either."

Eddie grunted in response, but luckily Patricia came down the stairs, "Yacker, you're ruining my reputati-whoa. You look great!"

"Thanks," she smirked, leaning against the banister and scrutinizing his outfit, "You could be better, though."

Eddie grinned, viewing over his girlfriend as she joined him and Nina. She really did look beautiful! Today her hair was curled, and you could see a few brown streaks (her natural hair color) twisting their way through the red locks. Her makeup made her green eyes noticeable and her clothes were picked by Amber, "Better? I thought you loved my leather jacket?" he nudged his shoulders against hers playfully.

She shoved him away, "Oh hush up."

"I knew it," he laughed, zipping up his coat.

"Don't you blab on me," she warned, planting a quick kiss on his lips, "Or you'll be toast."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Nina rolled her eyes, but her look of annoyance changed to an eager one when the doorbell rang, "That must be Fabian!" she cried, making a dash towards the door.

She swung open the door and smiled brightly at her boyfriend, "Fabian, you're back! I thought you weren't going to make it back in time!"

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," he set down his suitcase, shutting the door behind him, "But sorry I'm so late! Mum really wanted us to have breakfast together before I left and Lily was not very keen to see me go."

Nina chuckled, remembering his adorable redheaded sister, "I can understand that. Speaking of, how was the holidays with your family?"

"Really great," he fished a coat out of his backpack and slipped it in, "It was nice spending more time with them. We're still trying to figure things out, but we're not doing too badly. I didn't realize how much I missed actually being with everyone."

"I'm so happy for you," she couldn't wait any longer so she threw her arms around him for a hug, "I feel dumb for saying this, but I've really missed you!"

"Me too," he admitted, eyes crinkling in wonder at how she managed to be so beautiful as she buried her face in his chest, "But it was only a week and term will start up again tomorrow."

"I've nefer seef two people more exfited for school!"

Fabian and Nina jumped, spinning around to see Mick grinning at them, a half eaten bagel in his hand.

"Hey Mick!" Fabian greeted his friend with her signature handshake, "I didn't think you were gonna make it, I thought your mom wanted to leave right away!"

"Nah," he shook his head, licking cream cheese off his fingers, "I couldn't leave Joy alone like that while you were all on some big Anubis date! Since my school doesn't start for a few more days I convinced mum to let me stay."

"Nice," Nina peeked around his shoulder, "Where's Joy?"

"Making sure everything is in check for day," he motioned upstairs, grinning, "She sure does love taking charge."

"Very true. So how are things between you two going?" inquired Fabian.

"So great!" Mick smiled dreamily, "We've been on two dates in the past week! On Wednesday we went into town and tried that new Mexican restaurant, but they accidentally doubled the amount of jalapeños for the dish we ordered, so our mouths were sort of on fire. So after we drank about a gallon of water we were checking out stores and came across one of those skill crane things. Well there was bunny plush in there and I totally won it for her."

Joy came into the living room, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend, "That's not how it happened! He paid a guy off to win it for me, since he apparently has no skills in that area," she patted his back sympathetically, "It's okay, babes. You can't be good at _every_ sport!"

"That's not a sport!" he cried indignantly, "And either way, she got the bunny, thanks to me."

"So what happened next?" Nina questioned eagerly.

"Then we went back to my house and ordered some Chinese food, a foreign food that can always be trusted. Then we thought that we ought to do some sort of silly coupley things, so we made a blanket fort and tried watching a movie. But we must have done a very poor job, considering the fact that the fort fell down in the middle of the movie," Joy shook her head mournfully, "And I thought that we were fantastic fort makers."

"So then we resorted to the couch," Mick added, "Which was a much better option."

"He's a massive fan of snuggling and cuddling," Joy whispered, giggling.

Fabian mentally laughed at the idea of the short tempered jock doing such a thing, "I can't even imagine it."

"So if you guys went on two dates, what happened on the second one?" Nina made a mental note to find out if Fabian liked those sorts of things.

"Took her out to a posh restaurant," Mick huffed up his chest proudly, "The kind where you have to dress in a tux and such, but it was worth it to see her in a dress."

Joy blushed, "Aw you big teddy bear, you looked great in a tux!"

"Did anymore mishaps occur there?" Fabian bit his tongue down to keep from laughing at their puppy love.

"Nope," Mick smiled at Joy, clasping her hand, "It was great, we ate delicious food and the whole place was very romantic."

"I honestly never thought you were the type to be like that," Joy confessed, "But the dinner was very lovely!"

"But we seem to have a talent for attracting trouble when we're on dates," Mick continued, "Because it was pouring rain outside and when the cab finally came we were soaked! Luckily the hotel my mum and I were staying at offered us warm dressing gowns when we got there. After that we enjoyed the hot tub and just sat around talking."

"And by talking she means snogging."

"Mick!" Joy scolded, hitting him playfully.

"What an adventure," Nina remarked.

"You have no idea," Mick's stomach growled and he moaned, "When are we leaving? I'm starving!"

"To be honest, I'm getting rather hungry myself," Joy rubbed her stomach, "Want me to whip us up some scrambled eggs?"

"Yes please!" he licked his lips, rubbing his hands together happily, "I'll help if you like!"

"Do you two want any?" Joy asked.

They both shook their heads, "I already ate," Fabian said, "And I really ought to unpack before we leave."

Joy nodded "Alright! Can't wait until we start the group date!" she led Mick into the kitchen with their hands still held, "Try not to make a mess out of the eggs by cracking them all over the counter-"

_Crack!_

"Oh, Mick," they heard Joy laugh.

"I almost made it in!"

"Almost being the operative word."

Fabian and Nina burst into hearty laughter, and when they were done, Fabian grabbed his suitcase, walking with Nina into his room.

"Is it just me or are those two a little…?" he asked tentatively, dropping the suitcase on floor.

"Oh most definitely," she laughed, shaking her head at the couple.

"Glad I'm not the only one," he looked relieved, "And don't get me wrong, I think it's great that they got together! But they are most definitely in that puppy love stage right now."

"We must have skipped that stage," Nina absentmindedly ran her fingers across Fabian's guitar, "Either that or everyone didn't tell us that we were acting annoyingly coupley."

"Everyone deserves to go through that first mushy stage of a relationship, but let's just say that some handle it differently than others."

Nina giggled, "That's an understatement," she sat on his bed, admiring how he looked today, "I like that sweat-I mean jumper of yours."

He looked down and blushed, "Just a Christmas present," he joined her on the bed, "You look lovely today."

"Thanks," she actually did feel pretty confident about her outfit today. Even her hair was obeying, thanks to Amber and her never ending supply of hair products, "You'd think that after a while we'd give up being so awkward."

"That's who we are I guess," he let out a staccato laugh, "Awkward from the start."

"I don't mind it though," she leaned against him harder than intended, and they both fell backward onto his bed, laughing and blushing.

"There we go again," she clutched her sides, aching from laughter, "Making awkward situations out of absolutely nothing at all."

Their hands were right next to each other so Fabian squeezed hers and changed the subject, "Why me, Nina?"

"What are you talking about?" her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why did you choose me? I've always wondered that. I was just some nerdy guy in the same boarding house as you, but somehow, you, the lovely American, decided that I was deemed worthy to be her boyfriend."

She smiled up at the ceiling, "You were the first to be nice to me, because in a place where everybody was either making fun of me or demanding to know what I'd done with their best friend, the person who was genuinely kind to me was a blessing. Then you were my first Sibuna, the first person to believe that I wasn't crazy, and the first person to willingly venture into the attic with me. You were the first person to call me beautiful-"

"Nobody's ever called you beautiful before?" he scoffed, turning on his side so he faced her and she nodded, "Then I guess no one's ever really looked at you properly."

She just grinned, and realized that they were only inches apart, "You were the first boy I've ever fallen in love with."

"Is it too much to ask that I'll be the only one?" he murmured, tipping his chin out so that their lips were much closer.

"It's only you for me," she whispered, "Now it's your turn, why did you choose me?"

"Ah," he breathed, eyes bright as he watched her, "You are Nina Martin. You're strong, loud, courageous, beautiful, intelligent, and amazing in every single way."

"That's not an answer," Nina wrinkled her nose, "You're just-"

He held up a finger to silence her, "Do you want to know the moment I knew you were the one? It was our first prom, when Rufus had us locked in Mr. Winkler's classroom. He grabbed your arm and yanked you up to take you who knows where, and that was when I knew."

"Knew what?" she urged, voice tinged with curiosity.

"I knew that I couldn't live without you. What if he took you away forever? I wasn't willing to lose you, so I fought for my love."

Instead of saying anything, Nina stroked his face, running her cool fingers along his cheek.

"I love you, Nina."

There it was again, those words that had been uttered for the first time as they stood, embracing in the rain.

"I love you, Fabian," she whispered back, eyes closed as she leaned closer to him, leaving hardly an space between their lips, "It's funny, because I knew it was you on the exact same day. Even in that same stupid classroom, wondering what would happen to us. And I decided that if I was to die, that it'd be okay, because I was with you. But I kept worrying, because what if we died and I never told you how I'd felt? Then with every moment, I just fell further for you. When I said _I love you_, I really meant it. The worst was when Jason came after us, I didn't even remember much of being kidnapped. I just remember waking up to being restrained and not next to you. I was going to kill myself, because it meant saving you. Why'd you have to go along and offer yourself up instead? It wasn't your choice to make-"

The corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile, "I wanted to get even with you."

Nina arched her eyebrow, "Get even with me? What, are we Patricia and Eddie now?"

"You nearly sacrificed yourself last year with the mask of Anubis, and I couldn't let you go all the way through with it this time. I was trying to be your protector. I know Eddie is your Osirian, but that doesn't mean I can't protect you too."

"You idiot," she muttered, very unlike herself, "You didn't have to do that, you've always been my protector, even if you were chosen by the Egyptian Gods to be. I say that you're my protector and that's that! No need to prove yourself…"

"I know that now, but at that time I had to be the one who saved you. It was kind of selfish, really."

"Only _you_ can make an act of foolish, yet unbelievable bravery seem selfish."

"Sorry," he chuckled lightly.

"Just shut up and kiss me," Nina demanded, shaking her head, "Before you get too wonderful, because you're about to reach the limit."

So he pressed his lips against her, impossibly grateful that they were here now, together and alive.

"What are you two doing?!"

Fabian and Nina quickly sat up, blushing as they saw Amber staring at them with a shocked expression on her face.

"Amber, what are you doing here?" Nina demanded, smoothing her blouse.

"I was just looking for _you_," Amber hissed, "But then I found you two-"

"We were just kissing!" Fabian cried, flushing a bright shade of red, "Did you _really _assume that we were doing _that_?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud, but I'm disappointed that you didn't tell me!"

"What in the world?" Nina questioned, staring at Amber with an expression of pure confusion, "You _wanted _us to be doing that?"

"Of course!" Amber said, as if it was a very obvious fact, "I've been waiting for it to happen!"

"Amber!" Fabian looked utterly appalled, "That's not something that you-"

"Oh _come on_," she exasperatedly sighed, "I know you two are slow at this, but it honestly took you so long! It hardly took me _that _long."

Nina opened her mouth in astonishment, feeling completely dumbfounded, "Are you being serious right now?"

"I sure am," Amber shook her head, "But guys, please! It's only 3 words, _I love you._ You could have at least told me that you said it to each other!"

"Oh," Fabian let out a deep breath, "That's what you meant…"

"What did you think I meant?" Amber asked curiously.

"Nothing," Nina said quickly, "I'll be with you in a minute Amber."

"But I need you right now-" Amber realized what she meant, "_Oh. _I'll just leave you two alone then," she grinned, nearly skipping out of the room.

"Oh gosh, Amber literally surprises me on a daily basis," Nina giggled.

"Me too," Fabian agreed, shaking his head, "Me too."

* * *

Just down the hall, Jerome had just barely arrived, "Disgusting," he stated drearily, stepping into the house, "I can't believe we're forced to go back to school tomorrow."

"Tell me about it, Jerry," Eddie agreed.

"Where's Mara?" Jerome inquired.

"She'll be here soon," Joy answered, "You're all she's been talking about for the past few hours."

"I still can't believe you got together with the meathead," Jerome gestured to Mick, who had his arm around Joy's shoulder.

Mick opened his mouth to retort but Joy beat him to it, "Oh shut it, Clarke."

Jerome threw his head back and laughed, "You're already mimicking each other!"

Mick threw Jerome a nasty glance, so Jerome just held his hands up in defeat.

"That's right, that's right," Mick smirked, giving Joy a quick kiss.

"I'm not saying it's bad," Jerome clarified, "But it's just _weird, odd, unusual, out of the ordinary…_do I have to list anymore synonyms?"

Mara had just heard Jerome's voice and excitedly rushed down the stairs to greet her boyfriend, "Jerome!" she exclaimed, staring at her boyfriend who had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Jaffray!" he cried, rushing to her and grabbing her in a crushing bear hug.

"Aren't you two just the typical airport couple," Patricia sardonically remarked, staring at the couple with utter distaste.

After a drawn out kiss just to annoy everyone, Jerome turned to Patricia, "Just because you aren't as cute as Jaffray and I are, doesn't mean you can complain."

"Cute? You've added some words to your vocabulary, Clarke" Patricia scoffed.

"_You _haven't seen your boyfriend for a week," Mara continued, "_I _haven't seen Jerome in three weeks!"

Eventually, Nina and Fabian joined their friends near the entrance, and for a while they just chatted away with each other. Then Alfie came in from the kitchen and they were all waiting for Amber.

"We should've left a half an hour ago," Eddie moaned impatiently.

"Will you tell Amber to come down?" Fabian asked Alfie diplomatically.

"Fine," Alfie held up his hands in defeat, about to call for Amber but she was already coming down the stairs, golden blonde hair flowing as she walked swiftly down. She was wearing new clothes that she had receive for Christmas and Alfie thought she looked blindingly beautiful.

"You look amazing, Ambs," he muttered, awestruck as she reached the last step.

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly at him but glared at everyone else, "None of you will ever understand how long it takes to recreate this look."

"Let's just go before we're anymore late," Mara laughed, opening the front door and gesturing for everyone to follow.

They all stepped into the brisk morning, but despite the cold it was a gorgeous day. The lightly falling snow in the sunlight looked as if someone was sprinkling glitter above them. They all walked into town, each couple with their arms laced or gloved hands clasped together, grinning and talking to each other.

"Nina, did I say that you looked lovely today?" Fabian asked kindly, pleasantly surprised by her simple yet fashionable clothing. Amber had told Nina that black was her best color, so Nina had on a black peacoat, cute black boots, and a small black beanie that made her wavy hair look rather elegant.

"Yes, you did," she laughed, "Now you're just spoiling me with compliments."

"That's my job."

* * *

Their first stop was the bowling alley, which had been Nina's idea. She had always seen movies or television shows where friends went bowling and it incredibly cheesy, yet always ended up being cute. However, to their dismay they found out that it was just the opposite. The bowling alley was sticky and in need of a good cleaning, so as they slipped on their dreadfully colorful shoes they all duly noted the sickening smells and stains of their first date destination.

"I'm sorry guys," Nina told everyone, carefully tying her shoelaces "I didn't know this place was in such bad shape."

"How can it be bad? There's food!" Mick grinned, about to make a dash for the front desk.

Joy held up a hand to stop her boyfriend, "You do _not _wanna do that."

"Why not?"

"Look at that!" she cried, pointing to a customer feebly pick at a plate of greasy French fries with what seemed to be moldy cheese and a mystery meat.

"That should be considered biohazardous waste," Mara visibly cringed, pinching her nose in disgust.

"Fair point," Mick looked slightly pale, clutching his stomach due to a slight nausea.

"We could just skip this part," suggested Nina, "It wouldn't hurt my feelings or anything…"

"No we have to stay!" Alfie cried, "Bowling is my thing, guys."

"He's right," Patricia agreed, "Anyway, I've got to make sure Eddison doesn't beat me at my own game."

"We'll be doing couples teams," Fabian sighed, "So you two will just have to get along!"

"No worries," Eddie smirked, selecting a red ball for him and Patricia, "We're going to win because of me."

"Hah!" she scoffed, "_I'll _be the knocking down the most pins!"

So everybody grabbed a ball gathered around a lane. Amber volunteered herself to type in the team names, so she skipped up to the machine and typed as follows:

_Team Fabina_

_Team Amfie_

_Team Peddie_

_Team Jara_

_Team Moy_

"Amber, what are you doing?" Jerome arched an eyebrow, "People are going to think we're crazy, nobody else combines names like that."

"Well _we _do," Amber snapped, "You actually do not understand how essential it is for couples to have a title like that."

"Please, enlighten me," he retorted, pretending to be interested.

"First of all-Alfie what are you doing? Get us that pink ball!" Amber called to her boyfriend, pointing to a sparkling ball that was an alarming shade of pink.

"Ambs are you kidding me?" Alfie groaned, "You're going to ruin my mojo! I'm an _expert _bowler_._"

"I think that you should focus on being an expert boyfriend," Amber shrugged indifferently, "Because that's what this day is about, not winning or losing."

Moaning, Alfie picked up the pink ball and shamefully set it down with the others.

Fabian and Nina were the first to roll, but neither had very precise aim so they never knocked down very many pins, so they were the first out of the competition.

Next to lose were Jerome and Mara. In all honesty Jerome was a fair bowler, but Mara did not understand the scientific formula to create a perfect throw, so that brought their score down enough for them to lose.

Patricia and Eddie were a close third, but due to their bickering they did not do as well as hoped. They were both pretty decent bowlers, but Eddie would be about to throw and Patricia would yell to him about his form, so he would be distracted and miss. Or sometimes Patricia would be preparing to roll her ball, but Eddie would say something and she just had to best him, so then her throw was incorrect. At one point they completely forget about the couples competition and solely focused on beating the other, which resulted in their loss.

So now it was down to Mick and Joy versus Amber and Alfie. Mick was an average player, and while his powerful throw could have enough force to knock down a lot of pins, but he could easily miss. Joy was quite the player, with her rather skilled and precise throw. Now Alfie was most definitely the best bowler there, apparently he had won several competitions when he was younger. However, Amber was a tragedy in ugly shoes, throwing that pink ball that Alfie loathed. Luckily Alfie's skills outweighed Amber's lack thereof.

Currently the two teams were neck and neck, Joy had just bowled a spare and the last turn fell to Amber. The only way she could win was if she bowled a strike, which had yet to happen.

"Alfie I don't want to do this," Amber complained, examining her nails, "What if I break a nail?"

Leaping up from his seat, Alfie joined Amber at the front of their lane, "Ambs, you've got this," he added brightly, "Also, your nails will be fine, trust me, those babies can survive anything."

"Don't give me that," she mumbled, frowning at the ground, "I'm awful at this and I'm going to make us lose."

"No you're not," he assured her, "You're Amber Millington, of course you can do this!"

She contemplated this, "It's not in the Millington genes to quit."

"Exactly!" he slapped her back, "No worries, yeah?"

"But how do I do it?" she inquired, peering at the ball, "My normal method is to just throw and hope that I don't hit anybody with it!"

"This is what you do," he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and guiding her arms into the correct position, "Swing your arm back like this," he steered her arm backwards, "Now close your eyes and let go."

"That's all?" she looked a little more hopeful now.

"That's all," he echoed, grinning.

"Thanks, beau," she leaned over and kissed him, "You're the best."

"No problem, now go out there and win! I believe in you!" he cried as he ran back to his seat.

Amber took a deep breath and slowly picked up the bowling ball, facing the lane. She turned to Alfie who gave her an encouraging thumbs up, and then she turned back to the set of pins that lay before her. Then she pulled her arm back, closed her eyes, and tossed the ball forward with as much force as she could.

There was a crash, but how many pins had she knocked down? She peeked one eye open and didn't see one standing pin!

"Yeah Ambs!" Alfie shouted, dashing up to Amber and hugging her tightly, spinning her around.

"I did it! We did it!" she squealed when he sat her down.

"See? I knew you could!" he nudged her playfully and the corners of her mouth tugged into a smile.

"You're right. I'm Amber Millington! I can do anything," she grinned triumphantly, "And you helped too, beau."

"Team Amfie for the win!" he yelled enthusiastically, high fiving his girlfriend, "Team…everybody else loses!"

Mick and Joy both groaned, but congratulated Amber and Alfie for winning.

"So close babe," Mick patted Joy's shoulder supportively.

"What's next?" Patricia demanded impatiently.

"I hope you're not being a sore loser, Trixie," Alfie scolded, "It's all about having fun!"

"That's what you say," Eddie rolled his eyes, "You _were _the winner!"

"Next we've got a movie," Fabian interrupted, "And there's a movie theater conjoint with this place, so all we've got to do is pick the movie."

You wouldn't think it, but this decision was quite a difficult one. Patricia, Eddie, Jerome, and Alfie opted for the newest installment of a trilogy that involved the Zombie Apocalypse, which involved blood, guts, and lots of their favorite flesh eating monsters. Amber was especially not in favor of that decision. However, Nina, Fabian, and Mara yearned for the movie that was based off of a book they had all recently read. Though they had attempted to explain the plot to their friends, it just came out a jumbled mess that confused everyone. So that movie was a definite no. Then Amber and Joy begged to see the newest chick flick that featured some attractive male that was way too old for them. Last of all was Mick, who didn't really care what movie they watched, as long as he could hold the popcorn in his lap and be next to Joy.

In the end they'd decided on a movie that seemed to suit everyone. It contained actions, romance, and a well written plot, so everyone was eventually satisfied.

Fabian and Nina's hands were clasped in the dark, and though they'd held hands a million times, there was still a sort of giddiness that accompanied it. But Patricia and Eddie were a little stiffer about their intimacy. They both glared at each other when their hands brushed as they both reached for the popcorn. Eventually Eddie got fed up with this, so during one of the more romantic parts of the movie he planted a kiss on Patricia lips and to his delight she kept on kissing him. An older couple scolded them for doing _obscene things _during the movie so they stopped kissing. After this incident they both held back laughter and their shoulders relaxed, feeling a bit more at ease with the other. Mara laid her head on Jerome shoulder, and might have fallen asleep but Jerome thought she looked kind of peaceful so he said nothing. Alfie felt like he ought to do something with Amber, considering the fact that everyone else was doing some sort of romantic thing. So he crept his hands towards Amber, laying his arm across the rest for her to take the hint. Unfortunately for him, she was actually focused on the movie, so when she realized his hand was waiting for she tried to reach for it, but he moved it out of the way at the last second. Sighing, Amber grabbed Alfie's hand, muttering under her breath that they were acting way too much like Fabian and Nina. But Alfie was glad that Amber wanted to hold his hand, so he stifled a laugh and happily watched the rest of the movie. Mick didn't have a problem with doing boyfriend things during movies, so he had one hand in the popcorn tub and the other draped around Joy.

* * *

After the movie was over, they all headed for the ice skating rank, Amber's requested dating location. It was an idyllic day, the sun was shining and making the ice sparkle. The ice skating rink was outside and lots of people were there, couples linking arms as they skated, children screaming as they flew past, and even hockey players practicing.

Nina was lacing up her skates, sitting on a bench and hesitantly staring out at the ice.

"What's wrong?" Fabian sat beside her, slipping his shoes on.

"That," Nina pointed at the ice rink, "I've never ice skated before!"

Patricia sat beside the two and raised an eyebrow, "You've _never _skated before?"

She shook her head, "Nope! I've lived in Los Angeles, California all my life, so there's not exactly an abundance of places to ice skate. Plus Gran never took me to places where you could."

"That's a shame," Patricia tsked disapprovingly, "Now you're going to fall and look really-"

"You're not being very helpful!"

"Sorry!" she held her hands up, "We all have got to fall sometimes, yeah?"

Eddie came over and dropped a pair of ice skates into Patricia's lap, "Lace up, Yacker."

"Don't be so pushy," Patricia made a face but started putting on her shoes anyway, "Tell Nina that it doesn't matter if she hasn't skated before."

"You haven't?" Eddie guffawed, "You are going to fall flat down on your face and I hope I'm there to see it!"

Nina shot him a dirty look but Patricia slapped his shoulder, "Way to exaggerate, doofus!"

"It's not my fault I was the only one willing to tell her the truth!"

Fabian scowled at Eddie but patted Nina's shoulder, "Pay no attention to him. What are you so worried for though?"

"It looks dangerous," she bit her lip nervously.

"Nina Martin? Afraid of danger?" Fabian scoffed, "So you're willing to face an undead ruler and crazy, eternal life seeking men but not go ice skating?"

"I have the worst balance!"

"You can't be worse than Mara," Patricia teased, "Or can you?"

"I heard that!" Mara cried, joining her friends, "And I'll have you know that I can skate quite well, thank you very much."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Patricia waved her dismissively, "But come on, who actually is good at ice skating?"

"Patricia's right!" Mara urged, "Everybody falls down, but you've just got to be willing to stand back up again!"  
"And you've got us," Fabian lifted a wobbly Nina up, "Lots of helping hands to pick you up when you've fallen."

"_I _never fall," Eddie huffed up his chest proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Patricia mocked, pinching his cheeks, "Did daddy tell you that?"

"Ha ha," he swatted her hand away, "I'm not kidding though, I played hockey for six straight years, so it's safe to say that I'm probably the _best _at ice skating."

"Modest as ever," Patricia rolled her eyes, "So you're telling me that you never fell down in six years of brutal, painful hockey?"

"I'm not saying that I _didn't_ fall down," Eddie clarified, "I'm saying that now I _don't_ fall down. Clear?"

"As mud."

"Good," he just about left but pointed an accusing finger at her, "You don't believe me, do you?"

She smiled cheekily, "Oh honey, of course I believe you," she replied in a girly, high-pitched voice.

"Oh you are going _down_, Yacker."

"The only one going down will be _you_."

"Oh yeah? _Bring it on_," he challenged.

"Oh I will," she smirked maliciously, "I bet that I can get you on the ground before we're done today."

Jerome had just entered into the conversation and his mouth dropped down, "Wait, what? Are you two gonna-"

"You absolute pervert!" Patricia cried, shoving him forcefully as she left to skate.

Laughing, Jerome held his hand up for Eddie to high five, "Oh man, you have finally cracked Patricia. After all these years, it's _you _to do it! An American, even!"

Eddie ignored the high five, "Get a life, Jerry," he exited and joined Patricia out on the ice.

Jerome stared at the two mournfully and turned to Fabian, hand still in the air.

"No."

Jerome let out a sigh and Mara laughed at him, "You reap what you sow."

"You think you're clever, don't you Jaffray?"

"Just a bit," she stood up, lacing her arm through his and taking him out on the ice.

For a moment, Mara let go of Jerome and spread her arms out, flying across the ice.

Jerome tried to skate after her, but his arms were flailing and Mara thought he greatly resembled a newborn gazelle.

"What are you doing?" she giggled, covering her mouth with her mittens.

"I'm skating," he replied, thrashing his arms wildly so he would not fall down.

"Skating? No. Floundering about like a fish on land? Yes."

On the other side of the rink, Eddie was making circles around Patricia, who had not moved an inch other than to get out on the ice.

"Will you quit with that?" she snapped, "You're making me dizzy!"

"No," he sang, expertly zipping back and forth across the ice.

When he wasn't looking, Patricia held out her foot to trip him, but he jumped over her foot, landing to the ice with _whoosh_.

"What was that?" she demanded, "Because it wasn't fair!"

Sneering, he speedily whipped around to face her, "Told you I was _fantastic_."

Patricia stuck out her tongue, "I'm going to get you, slimeball."

"We'll see!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Mick was tightly gripping the railing, unwilling to go out any further.

"Come on big guy," Joy urged, "You can't stay there all day."

"Yes I can," he muttered, scowling at Eddie, who was twirling around a fuming Patricia, "How is he so good at it?"

"He's a hockey player," she extended her arm, "Now get out here and skate!"

"Hockey players," he grumbled, "I tried that once, but it was a complete joke."

"Or you couldn't do it?" Joy was unconvinced.

"Well maybe but-"

"No buts!" she grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her.

Mick made an unintelligible noise as he flew at her, grabbing her shoulders to stop himself.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she dragged him further, then let go and gracefully weaving through people.

Laughing, he tried to join her but could only clumsily inch along.

"Are you even trying?"

"I am, I swear!" he cried, heaving himself forward.

"Oh dear," she muttered, racing back to him, "You've got to _slide _your feet, not _drag _them."

"I have been _sliding _them…Oh," Mick had tried Joy's tactic and was not slowly moving forward, much less gauchely, "That does work!"

"Told you so," she pecked his lips, "You ought to listen to me more often."

"I really ought to," he echoed, kissing her again, with his hand behind her head, pulling her close to him.

* * *

Fabian and Nina were skating together, arms linked as they glided across the ice.

"This is pretty fun!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

Fabian grinned at her sheer enthusiasm, "It is, isn't it?"

"I wonder if I could-" Nina let out a shriek as her foot slipped and they both tumbled to the ground.

"Apparently not," Fabian laughed, imagining how utterly strange they must look to passing strangers, sprawled out on the ice like this.

They both tried to get up at the same time which caused them to bonk heads.

Amber spotted them from a distance and skated to them, shaking her head in dissatisfaction, "You two are hopeless."

Nina rubbed her forehead, "We appreciate your compliments."

"I'm just saying," Amber helped her friends up, "I always thought you two would get your act together when you started dating but _no_, you're still just as awkward."

"We've figured that out," Fabian said, "Where's Alfie?"

"Heeeere's Alfie!" they all looked up to see Alfie speeding towards them at a dangerous speed.

"Slow down!" Amber cried.

"I can't!" Alfie zoomed at them then collided with the three, knocking everyone down in the process.

"Oh beau," Amber muttered, standing up and wiping herself off, "You really are a terrible ice skater."

"That may be true, but you're an amazing one so I think we cancel each other out."

After an hour or so, most of the people had left the ice rink and it was starting to get dark.

"Can we go now?" Joy shivered, teeth chattering.

Mick put his arm around his girlfriend to warm her up, "I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Amber's still out there," Nina sighed, "And so is Patricia, she's still trying to knock Eddie down."

"Why aren't you out there with her?" Jerome asked Alfie.

"She wore me out," Alfie rubbed his temples, "She is like the energizer bunny when it comes to ice skating."

"How are we going to get them off the ice?" Fabian asked.

"Dragging them?" Joy suggested.

"I've got an idea!" Alfie smiled cunningly, whispering something into Jerome's ear, who's grin grew wider by the second.

"What's the plan?" Mara inquired, eyebrows raised.

"Not telling," Jerome replied, "We wouldn't want you guys to know too much, we want to save you from Patricia's wrath."

"How noble of you," muttered Fabian.

"Patricia's wrath? That doesn't sound so good…" Nina looked slightly worried.

Instead of replying, Jerome just gave them all a grin and sped off towards Patricia and Eddie.

Mara clicked her tongue in disapproval, "If he isn't careful he's going to fall, I mean look at him!"

"He's like a chicken skating around with its head cut off," Alfie remarked.

"That is definitely not the right phrase…" Mara sighed.

"Oh geesh," Nina mumbled, realizing Jerome's plan as he drew closer to Patricia at a very alarming rate.

They all watched in horror as Jerome flung himself at Patricia, who fell into Eddie. Taken completely by surprise, Eddie dropped to the ground.

Patricia landed on top of him and shook her fist at Jerome, "_Clarke_," she growled, "What was that for?"

"Oh-Oh dear," Jerome pretended to be sorry, "So sorry, I didn't even mean to run into you two!"

"Watch it next time," she hissed.

"Of course," he bowed and skated back to everybody else, rubbing his hands together because of the success of the plan.

Patricia grinned victoriously at Eddie, "I just knocked you down."

"Did not!" he retorted childishly, "You were shoved _into_ me, there's a difference, Yacker."

"Shove, schmove," she dismissed his comment, "Let's settle on this, I made you fall down vicariously through Jerome."

"You cheater!"

"Don't be a sore loser," she chided, taking advantage of his shocked face and kissing him.

"Mmmm okay maybe it was worth it to lose," he murmured.

"That's what I thought," she chuckled, pulling herself up to a sitting position and yelling to the others, "I'm ready to go now!"

"Told you so," Alfie muttered to Jerome.

* * *

It was now late at night, and everybody was gathered around a table at a restaurant. They had managed to get Amber off the ice, due to lots of persuasion and bribing. Their date was almost over, but the last stop was the best, a simple diner that had the best hot chocolate in town.

Everyone was gulping from their mugs, laughing and chatting about their wonderful date. It was the most memorable part of the night, and by the end everyone had major milk mustaches.

Joy held up her empty mug, "A toast," she proposed, "To us. So that we may have many more crazy adventures like this together."

"To crappy bowling alleys, holding hands at a movie theater, cliché ice skating, and delicious hot cocoa," Mara added.

"To best friends, because people like you guys only come once in a lifetime," Amber beamed at everyone.

"To boyfriends," Patricia smirked, "Who manage to be stupid and wonderful at the same time."

"To girlfriends," Alfie continued, "Who are unbelievably beautiful and totally nutters."

"Er, to Christmas Break," Fabian raised his glass, "Because it was the best one I've ever had."

Sighing, Eddie joined in, "To life, because it can suck sometimes but today it really didn't."

"To food," Mick joked, "Nah, just kidding. To England, because that's where all my best friends are."

"To scolding hot drinks," Jerome said, "Because you guys are insistent on giving impossibly long toasts and I hate drinking cold hot cocoa."

Nina, who was the last smiled softly and lifted up her glass, grinning at her friends, "To Christmas songs, because they make you really grateful for what you have," everyone stared at her, so she explained further, "The other day we sang this song and these lyrics really made an impression on me. _Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow._ When I heard that, I realized that our time together is running out. I hope that we can stay in touch, because you guys are _amazing_. But one day, there will be a time when we don't see each other every day, but guess what we're going to do? We're going to find ways to be together, because that's what friends do. I'm so glad I met you guys and I hope that we'll spend more Christmases together. If I've learned anything from coming to England, it's that life throws a lot of things at you but if you have great friends you can get through it. I've never had more fun in my life than when I've been with you guys, thanks for making my stay here so incredible."

And with that, everyone clanked their glasses together and swore to each other that'd they'd stay in touch, no matter what happened. As the night went on, they laughed and talked, enjoying their last lovely night together before school started. Everybody shed a tear, though they didn't admit it, when Mick left.

They'd miss their Australian friend, but they'd know that there'd be many more Christmases to celebrate and many more dates to go on.

Because that's the thing about goodbyes, they're just early hellos in disguise. They're the sweet promise of seeing someone again someday.

That night the friends celebrated life, love, and laughter, because for now, that was all that really mattered.

* * *

**I can't believe this fic is over! It was fun and crazy to write, but I'm so appreciative of all the support you guys have given me. This story wouldn't be the way it is without helpful reviews and friends! I'd like to thank my friends Katee and Emily for giving me tips, help on editing the story, and best of all, they'd review when I texted them that I'd still need one more review before I could update the chapter! I didn't mean to be a review whore or anything, but some of your reviews improved my writing and inspired me! I asked for reviews so I could update because if I was going to put a lot of time into a story, I wanted to know that people out there wanted it, so sorry if I seemed a little demanding. You don't have to review this chapter or anything, but your reviews make me incredibly happy and they're always appreciated, so don't hesitate. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story, it means the world to me! I got requests for a sequel, but life is going to get very busy very fast and I'd like to leave the story like this, on a happy and fluffy note. I hope you liked their gigantic, corny group date! All in all, writing this was a learning experience, but with your guys help I got through it! Thanks for encouraging me to keep writing and I hope that you've all enjoyed this story. **


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